From morning till evening, the farmer gets no rest. Farmer Shimul Biswas, Hurmat Sheikh, and Abdul Aziz were working in the crop fields as usual, braving storms, rain, and sun. Among them, Shimul Biswas and Hurmat Sheikh were harvesting crops in different areas of the same district.
Abdul Aziz was in a different district. While working, the sky suddenly turned black with clouds. Two of them were on their way home, and one was working in the field when lightning struck. They died on the spot.
The crop fields that were their constant companions – from there, they never returned home.
It wasn’t just these three; multiple incidents of deaths and damage due to lightning occurred in various districts across the country on Sunday. According to reports sent by TIMES of Bangladesh district correspondents, at least 11 people were killed by lightning, including two farmers in Jhenaidah, one farmer each in Gaibandha and Naogaon, three people in Cumilla, one school student in Narayanganj, two madrasa students in Kurigram, and one housewife in Bogura.
Two farmers die in Jhenaidah
Two farmers died after being struck by lightning in Jhenaidah. The incidents occurred in the morning in Ardamukhi village in Sadar upazila and in Shekhra village in Shailkupa upazila.
Locals reported that farmer Shimul Biswas from Ardamukhi village was working in his own field. When it suddenly started raining, he was returning home. At that time, he was struck by lightning and died on the spot. On the other hand, Hurmat Sheikh from Shailkupa was also returning home in the rain. He was seriously injured by a lightning strike and died after being brought home.
Jhenaidah Additional Police Superintendent Imran Zakaria said, “During adverse weather, no one should be under the open sky; the risk of lightning is highest then.”
One farmer dies in Gaibandha
A farmer named Abdul Aziz died after being struck by lightning in Saghata upazila of Gaibandha. The accident occurred around noon in Dighalkandi village of Haldia union in the upazila.
Locals reported that Abdul Aziz was working in his rice field next to his house. When clouds gathered in the sky and heavy rain started, he continued working in the field. Suddenly, he was killed on the spot by a lightning strike. Later, locals rescued him and brought him home.
The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Saghata Police Station, Badsha Alam, said, ‘This is a natural disaster; a death due to unnatural causes case has been filed at the police station.’
Three deaths in Cumilla
Three people, including two sisters, died after being struck by lightning in Bhabanipur village of Ghagutia union in Homna upazila of Cumilla. The incident occurred around 3pm.
The deceased are Momtaz Begum (37), Jakia (23), and Rashed Mia (22), son of Ruhinur Islam. Eyewitnesses reported that they were waiting at the Bhabanipur ghat for a ferry crossing. When lightning struck with a loud noise, all three died on the spot.
Homna Police Station OC Rafiqul Islam stated that after heavy rain started in the afternoon, several passengers were waiting at the Bhabanipur ghat for the Uzanchar-Ghagutia ferry crossing. At that time, they were killed by lightning. Upon receiving the news, police recovered the bodies around 3:15pm. The bodies will be handed over to their families after legal procedures.
One school student dies in Narayanganj
A school student named Wasim (13) died after being struck by lightning in Ulukandi village of Araihazar upazila, Narayanganj. In the afternoon, he was injured by lightning while feeding grass to his cow at home.
When he was taken to the Sonargaon Health Complex in an injured condition, the duty doctor, Fazlul Haque, informed that the child had already died before arriving at the hospital. Wasim was a fifth-grade student at the local government primary school.
Two deaths in Kurigram
Two people died in two separate lightning strike incidents in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram. On Sunday afternoon, second-grade student Mohammad Bablu Mia died after being struck by lightning while returning from madrasa in the Kalikapur area of Nunkhawa union. He was the son of Nur Hossain from that area.
In another incident, a farmer named Sahibur died after being struck by lightning while cutting grass for his cow in Char Luchni village of Bamandanga union.
Nageshwari Police Station OC Rezaul Karim confirmed both deaths.
One housewife dies in Bogura
A housewife named Shefali Begum died after being struck by lightning in Gabtali upazila of Bogura. Around noon, she was cutting grass for her cow by the riverbank near her house in Madhyamarachao village of Naruamala union in the upazila. At that time, she was killed on the spot by a lightning strike.
Eyewitness Shafiq Islam said, “Hearing a scream along with the sound of lightning, I crossed the river and found her lying dead in the field.”
Gabtali Police Station OC Sirajul Haq stated that the body would be handed over to the family after legal procedures.
Farmer dies in lightning strike in Naogaon
A farmer named Taher Ali (50) died after being struck by lightning while grazing cattle in a field in Raninagar, Naogaon. The accident occurred in the morning in the Krishnapur field area on the bank of the small Jamuna river in the upazila.
Eyewitnesses reported that in the morning, Taher went to the Krishnapur field on the bank of the small Jamuna river with his cattle for grazing. He was grazing the cattle in the field. Around 9:45am, it suddenly started raining with lightning. At that time, he left the cattle in the field and took shelter under a banyan tree. There, he was struck by lightning and died on the spot.
Raninagar Police Station OC Abdul Hafiz Md Rayhan said, “We sent police to the spot after getting the news. The body has been handed over to the family after legal procedures.”
The Meteorological Department has reported that this trend of rainfall will continue across the country. In the latest weather forecast, the department stated that light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely in almost all divisions of the country. However, within this, there is a possibility of increased rainfall intensity in the Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Mymensingh divisions.
The forecast further stated that temporary gusty winds accompanied by light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely in most places of Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Mymensingh divisions and in many places of Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, and Sylhet divisions. In some areas of these three divisions, moderately heavy to very heavy rainfall may also occur.
