Officials say lightning struck a wedding party on a boat in northern Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than a dozen others.
According to police officer Farid Hossain, the boat hit the shore of the Padma river in Shibganj town as the wedding guests made their way to the bride's residence. Fire Service spokesman Meherul Islam confirms fourteen individuals were hurt and brought to the hospital. Among those injured was the groom.
Groom among the people injured during a lightning strike
The event occurred on Wednesday in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj district, in the country's western region. People gather over the remains of victims in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj district, around 245 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, after lightning killed more than a dozen people.
Officials claimed the groom was among the injured, but the bride was not injured as she was not with them at the time of the incident. When they were struck, the group abandoned their boat on the bank of the Padma river to seek shelter during a thunderstorm.
During the monsoon season in Bangladesh, over 200 people are killed, typically by lightning. According to experts, deforestation is partially to blame for the increase in lightning strikes.
During the warm months of March through July, the majority of lightning deaths occur. Experts believe that the increase in deadly lightning strikes is linked to deforestation, which has resulted in the loss of many tall trees that would have drawn lightning strikes previously, as per Reuters.
Bangladesh lightning strikes casualties
According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, lightning strikes killed 2,164 individuals in the country between 2011 and 2020. Many deaths aren't officially reported; therefore, the numbers are likely to be higher.
Since 2016, lightning protection has been a feature of Bangladesh's national disaster plan and construction code, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pushing structures with earthing systems to dump energy from lightning strikes to the ground. Local governments have started spreading palm seeds to develop into trees to redirect lightning bolts away from humans in various parts of the country.
Per Newsweek via MSN, the Bangladeshi National Plan for Disaster Management said lightning catastrophes struck the Surma Basin, the northwest Barind tract, and the northern Tertiary hilly area of Bangladesh between 2015 and 2018. Male farmers, most usually in rural regions, are most likely killed in lightning strikes in Bangladesh.
In the recent weeks, Monsoon storms have pounded Bangladesh. A week of severe rains in Cox's Bazar's southeastern area has killed 20 people, including six Rohingya refugees. Each year, hundreds of individuals are killed by lightning in South Asian countries.
According to an official total, more than 200 individuals were killed by lightning in 2016, with 82 people dying on a single day in May. However, many deaths are never officially documented; and at least 349 people have been killed due to lightning strikes, according to one independent monitor.
According to some analysts, deforestation has exacerbated the death toll, with Bangladesh growing hundreds of thousands of palm trees to mitigate the effects of climate change and lower the number of people killed by lightning.
A week of severe rains in Cox's Bazar's southeastern area has killed 20 people, including six Rohingya refugees. Each year, hundreds of individuals are killed by lightning in the South Asian country, Gulf Today reported.
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