Bhubaneswar: At least 16 died and nine were injured in lightning strikes on Monday, taking the death toll to 34 in the last two days.
According to reports, four persons died in Cuttack district, three in Sambalpur district, two in Bhubaneswar and one each in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Puri and Deogarh districts. Eight students of Rasrasikapur UGME School in Athagarh were injured, two of them critically, when lightning struck the school building.
Earlier in the day, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had expressed grief over loss of 18 lives in lightning strikes across the state on Sunday and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased.
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