Lightning Tragedy Claims Eight Lives in Chhattisgarh

Eight people, including five boys, were killed in a lightning strike amid heavy rains in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district. The victims were seeking shelter near a roadside structure. Four of the deceased were students returning from exams. The Chief Minister announced financial assistance for the victims' families.

Eight persons, including five boys, were killed in a lightning strike near Joratarai village in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district on Monday during heavy rainfall, police reported.

The incident occurred around 2 pm when the victims sought refuge under a roadside structure amid a downpour. Four of the boys were government school students returning from exams, and another had come to pick them up. Tragically, the lightning struck them in their moment of shelter, according to Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg.

Authorities, alerted by the incident, dispatched senior administration and police officials to the scene. The bodies were moved to a governmental facility for post-mortem examinations, and an injured man was hospitalized. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed his condolences and announced Rs 4 lakh in assistance for each family of the deceased, urging immediate aid and medical treatment for the injured.