Berhampur: Two persons, a student and a farmer, were killed in separate lightning strikes in Ganjam district Tuesday amid rain and thunderstorms.
Seventeen-year-old student K Kanha Reddy, alias Munna, of Dashipur village under Digapahandi block, died after being struck by lightning while returning home after a cricket match.
According to reports, he was playing with friends near his house when rain started with strong winds in the evening. As he rushed home, lightning struck him, leaving him unconscious.
Family members took him to the Digapahandi hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police registered an unnatural death case and sent the body to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for post-mortem. Kanha had passed his matriculation examination this year and was preparing to enrol in higher secondary education. In a separate incident, Murali Swain, 35, of Lanjipalli village under Sheragada block was killed after being struck by lightning while carrying fertiliser to his farmland during a Nor’wester storm in the afternoon.
He was rushed to the Sheragada hospital but succumbed to his injuries. Police registered a case, while revenue officials initiated an inquiry into the incident. The twin deaths have cast a pall of gloom over the two villages.