Twelve killed in lightning strikes in Bihar

Twelve people were killed in lightning strikes in three districts of Bihar on Sunday, disaster management officials said.

Nine persons were killed in Saran district while two died in Jamui and one in Bhojpur, they said.

Eight people were also injured in Saran district and they are being treated at Chhapra Sadar Hospital, Superintendent of Police Hari Kishore Rai said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled the deaths and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the families of each of the deceased, an official release said.

He prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.

"The loss of lives was comparatively less as people were indoors due to the lockdown," Kumar was quoted as saying in the release.

The chief minister urged the people to remain alert at times when the meteoroligical department has forecast bad weather and pay heed to advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department, it added.