Panna

Five persons were killed and 18 others injured in four incidents of lightning strikes in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district, the district officials said on Saturday.

According to district authorities, the incidents took place at Ureha, Pipariya Daun, Choumukha and Simrakhurd villages of Panna district on Friday.

While Ureha, Pipariya Daun and Choumukha villages reported one casualty each, two women were killed in the lightning strike at Simrakhurd, it was stated.

A 70-year-old man was struck by lightning when he ventured into a forest for grazing cattle in Simrakhurd, while another person died in Pipariya Daun and a 65-year-old man was killed in Choumukha, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Rachna Sharma said.

Seven persons were injured in the lightning strikes in these three villages, she said.

Apart from this, two women in their 20s were struck by lightning when they were working in a field in Ureha village, collector Sanjay Kumar Mishra said, adding that 11 others, who were injured in the incident, are undergoing treatment at Panna district hospital.