Chandauli/Kannauj, Jun 13 (PTI): Two women and a minor girl were killed after being struck by lightning in Chandauli district, while seven people were injured when a dilapidated roof and tin shed collapsed in Kannauj amidst heavy rain and strong winds across parts of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
These incidents occurred as weather conditions in several districts of the state shifted, bringing rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds.
In Chandauli district, Shakuntala (68), wife of Ramchandra and a resident of Bajardiha village under the Chakraghatta police station area, died after lightning struck her during a storm on Saturday afternoon.
Chakraghatta SHO Santosh Kumar said that Shakuntala was sweeping outside her home around 2.30 pm when strong winds and light rain began. Before she could seek shelter, lightning struck, causing severe burn injuries that led to her death at the scene.
Police and revenue department officials arrived and completed the necessary formalities, and her body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.
Later that evening, another lightning incident in Chandauli claimed the lives of two additional victims: a woman named Ruby (35) and a teenage girl named Lakshmi (13), both residents of Dhanawal Kala village under the Chakiya area, police said.
Circle Officer (Chakiya) Raghuraj stated that Ruby, whose husband Rajkumar works as a labourer, had lived in the village for the past two years.
She had gone out with Lakshmi to collect firewood in the Chuppepur Banvasi settlement around 6 pm when the weather suddenly worsened. Both sustained severe burn injuries from the lightning strike and died on the spot. Their bodies have also been sent for post-mortem examination, police reported.
In a separate incident in Kannauj district, seven people were injured when part of a roof and a tin shed collapsed in Balanapur Kutiya village under the Sadar Kotwali area on Saturday afternoon.
Officials explained that several individuals were sitting under the tin shed when the structure suddenly gave way, trapping them beneath the debris.
Police and locals rescued the injured, identified them, and rushed them to the district hospital. Doctors later referred two of the injured, Raj and Arun, to the Government Medical College in Tirwa after their condition was found to be serious.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Navneeta Rai, Tehsildar Avneesh Kumar and other revenue officials visited the site and assessed the damage.
Rai noted that the roof had been in a dilapidated state and had developed leaks, which likely weakened its structure. Villagers mentioned that the rainfall the previous night had exacerbated the damage before the collapse.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall accompanied by strong winds was reported from several districts of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. The weather office has forecast rain and thundershowers at isolated places in western Uttar Pradesh over the next 24 hours. PTI CDN MPL MPL
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)