Amer Fort in Jaipur of Rajasthan, India.Photo: John S Lander/LightRocket via Getty
The fatal incident occurred on Sunday evening atAmer Fort, which is located in India’s northern state of Rajasthan, Shankar Lal Saini, a senior disaster management official in Jaipur, toldCNN.
“There was a tower there. When the lightning struck, the tower’s wall collapsed, many people were buried under it,” Saini explained to the outlet. “Since the fort is on a hill, when the debris was falling and space reduced, some people also fell into a ditch.”
According toBBC News, 27 people were standing on the tower and the wall of the fort when the lightning struck. Those who died were believed to be taking selfies in the rain on the top of Amer Fort’s watchtower, the outlet reported.
Though the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. local time, Saini told CNN that police and civil defense force officials were performing rescue operations until 7 a.m. Monday.
The bodies of 11 people, including women and children, were recovered at the site and later pronounced dead at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, according to CNN.
Eleven others, a group that included both tourists and locals, were also rescued from the tourist attraction, and are in stable condition, Saini told CNN.
“Because it is a hilly area and there are a lot of trees the rescue teams kept looking till morning in case anyone is left behind but now all people have been accounted for,” Saini explained to the outlet.
“Many people have lost their lives due to lightning in some areas of Rajasthan,“his office wrote. “This has hurt a lot. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.”
According to BBC News, a total of 41 people were reportedly killed in Uttar Pradesh state, while at least seven died in Madhya Pradesh.
“The loss of lives due to lightning in many parts of Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. I extend my condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in this tragedy. May God give them the strength to bear this grief,“Modi’s office wrote in one tweet.
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Fatal lightning strikes are very common in India, especially in May and June, when monsoon season hits and brings heavy rains, according to CNN and BBC News.
In 2018 alone, 2,357 deaths were attributed to lightning in India, CNN reported, citing India’s National Crime Records Bureau.
source: people.com
