In separate incidents, at least seven persons were killed on Sunday including two football players after being struck by lightning in the State. According to sources, a lightning bolt struck the players during a football match at Jalda stadium under lathikata Block, killing two players Samra Tirkey and Bangali Purty on the spot and leaving fiver others injured.
Though the players were rushed to the hospital, doctors declared them dead. The injured persons identified as Mangra Munda, Sandip Horo, Dinesh lakra, Danda Munda and Amrit Sahu are now undergoing treatment at Rourkela Government Hospital. The victims were witnessing the final play of a local football tournament at the Jalda Mini Stadium when the incident occurred at about 2.30 pm.
On being informed local MlA and State Transport Minister Subrat Tarai and Rourkela ADM RN Mishra visited the victims at RGH and enquired about their treatment. The Minister and the ADM assured of assistances to the family members of the deceased and treatment of the injured persons from Red Cross and other sources. In a similar incident, three women were killed after being struck by lightning while working at an agricultural farm in Baliguali gram panchayat in Puri district on Sunday. In Sundargarh district, one person in Seriakali gram panchyat and another one in Kesarpur village in Suravi panchyat in Ganjam district were killed after being stuck by lightning.