Lightning kills seven in Maharashtra

NAGPUR - Seven farmers, including six women, were killed when lightning struck them in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district Sunday, an official said.

“Twelve people were working in the field outside a village in Wani taluka, around 2.30 p.m., when the weather got stormy and there was thunder and lightning. A lightning bolt struck, killing six women on the spot,” District Collector Sanjay Deshmukh said.

Wani is around 120 km northeast from Yavatmal district headquarters, which is around 750 km from Mumbai.

Six others were injured and one of them is in a critical condition, he said.

In a similar incident only a few km away, another farmer was struck by lightning and died on the spot, Deskmukh added.