Lightning strike on Bangladesh wedding party kills at least 17
- The wedding party was on its way to the bride’s house when several bolts of lightning struck a boat terminal. The groom was among the 14 injured
- Lightning kills hundreds of people in the South Asian nation each year
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The group had just left a boat at the riverside town of Shibganj to take shelter from the thunderstorm when the lightning struck the boat terminal on the banks of the Padma River, said Sakib Al-Rabby, a government administrator for the town. The bride was not with the wedding party, who were making their way to her house.
“We have information of 17 people who died and several others were admitted to hospital,” police official Farid Hossain said.
Fourteen people were injured and taken to hospital, Fire Service official Meherul Islam said.
Fierce monsoon storms have battered Bangladesh in the last week, with torrential rains in the southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar leaving some 20 dead, including six Rohingya refugees.
Lightning kills hundreds of people in the South Asian nation each year. According to an official tally, there were more than 200 lightning deaths in 2016, with 82 people dying on a single day in May.
Many deaths are never officially recorded, however, and one independent monitor counted at least 349 deaths from lightning strikes.
