Lightning Kills 18 People While Visiting Popular Landmark: 16 More Injured

At least 18 people were killed by a lightning strike at a popular tourist destination in the city of Jaipur, in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, on Sunday evening, July 11. Writes about it CNN.

Photo: Shutterstock

Lightning struck Amer Fort on the outskirts of the city, according to Shankar Lal Saini, a senior disaster relief official in Jaipur.

“There was a tower there. When lightning struck, the wall of the tower collapsed, many people were buried under it. Since the fort is on a hill, some people also fell down,” Saini said.

The incident occurred at 18.30, according to Saini, on Sunday, the police and civil defense forces carried out rescue operations until 07:00 on Monday, July 12.

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Saini said another 16 people were rescued and are in stable condition. He added that both locals and tourists were in the fort.

Eleven of those killed were tourists visiting Amer Fort on the outskirts of the state capital Jaipur after a lightning strike struck a watchtower near the site. Reuters.

“When the rain started, the visitors took shelter at the watchtower near the fort. Lightning struck the watchtower, killing 11 people on the spot and injuring others,” said Jairam, a local police officer who gave only his first name.

According to him, most of the victims were local tourists. Among the 18 bodies found were women and children. The victims were pronounced dead on arrival at Sawai Man Singh City Hospital.

“Since it is a hilly area and there are many trees, rescue teams searched until the morning in case anyone was missing, but now everyone has been found,” Saini said.

According to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gelot, several people were killed by lightning strikes in other parts of Rajasthan. He asked officials to provide immediate assistance to the families of the victims.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter: “Many people have died due to lightning strikes in parts of Rajasthan. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. "

Local authorities have promised compensation to the families of the victims of $ 6, writes with the BBC.

Typically, June to September is the monsoon season in India, during which heavy downpours continue.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said deaths from lightning strikes in the country have doubled since the 1960s - one of the reasons they cited was the climate crisis.

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In 2018, the southern state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,7 lightning strikes in just 13 hours.

Officials say such phenomena are more common in areas with fewer trees. There people are more vulnerable to blows.

According to the National Crime Data Bureau in India, lightning killed 2017 people in 2885 and 2018 in 2357.

In June 2020, lightning strikes in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar killed at least 107 people in just two days.

How to protect yourself

Safety measures during lightning strikes:

• Hide in a large building or car
• Avoid open areas and open hilltops
• If you have nowhere to hide, be as small a target as possible - crouch with your arms and legs bent and your head in
• If there is no building nearby, the safest option is to find a hole in the ground and wait out the storm there
• Don't hide under tall or isolated trees
• If you're on the water, get ashore and run from the wide, open beaches.

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