Lightning kills seven in 3 Saurashtra districts

Rajkot: At least seven people died after being struck by lightning in Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka and Botad districts on Tuesday as heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds lashed most parts of Saurashtra.
In Jamnagar district’s Rakkha Khatiya village of Lalpur taluka, a 35-year-old woman Nita Sitapara and her 12-year-old son Vishal, got electrocuted due to lightning when they were working in a farm.
Another 35-year-old woman identified as Pali Dangar her family member Komal (20) also met the same fate in Viramdad village of Devbhumi Dwarka district. Two other women were injured in the lightning and shifted to a government hospital.
In Botad district, a 60 year old man and a five year old girl in Lathidad village were killed by lightning while a 17 year old girl died in Sarvai village.
Incessant downpour forced closure of Bhavnagar-Somnath coastal highway twice as rainwater inundated the road at many places. Nageshree River in Amreli district. Lightning also damaged an electricity pole near Airport Road in Rajkot and electricity was snapped in some areas.
The heavy raining forced to halt traffic two times on Bhavnagar Somnath highway. The Nageshree river water was flowing above the causeway between Rajula and Una.
Sixteen villages of Ranigpur village of Keshod taluka in Junagadh were taken to a hospital as they got scared by lightning. However, they left after sometime and nobody suffered any injury.