10 killed in lightning in Bihar, four children drown in rainwater pond in UP

Ten people died in Bihar due to lightning in the last 24 hours, and four children drowned in rainwater pond in Uttar Pradesh's Agra on Sunday.

The deaths in Bihar occurred in various districts of the state amid rain and thunderstorms over the past few weeks.

Two deaths due to lightning were reported from Nalanda district, while Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Saharsa, Rohtas, Saran, Jamui, Bhojpur and Gopalganj account for one fatality each, reported PTI quoting a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

₹4 lakh ex-gratia

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced ex gratia of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased.

'Take precautions'

The Chief Minister also urged the people to take precautions during inclement weather as about 40 people have been killed due to lightning in the last couple of weeks.

4 kids drown in Agra pond

Meanwhile, in another incident in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, four children drowned in a pond created by rainwater accumulation on land near the Yamuna Expressway.

The children drowned while taking a bath. Five others who attempted to save them had to be rescued by police and locals.

"This morning, the family went to the rainwater pond and drowned. We received information that a family of nine had drowned, and four children were confirmed dead. Five people were successfully rescued alive by the rescue team," ANI reported quoting Agra ACP Sukanya Sharma.

A local told a news agency that all nine family members started drowning while playing. "We were able to safely rescue four children and one woman," Nitin Upadhyay."

PTI reported that the families (of the deceased kids) are from Auraiya and Kanpur but have been living here for some time.