Varanasi: Three people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed in separate lightning strikes as thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain swept through Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts on Friday. The sudden change in weather also uprooted trees and electric poles, disrupted power supply and caused property damage across the region.Two of the deaths occurred in Sonbhadra, where eight-year-old Avesh Tigga was killed in Kachanarva village and 52-year-old Sonkunwar died in Babhandiha under the Myorpur police station area. In Kachanarva village, Ramnath Uraon, 45, was injured by lightning and was admitted to the Dudhi Community Health Centre.In Mirzapur, 45-year-old cattle herder Shiv Kumar also lost his life after being struck by lightning.A large iron welcome gate at the Uttar Pradesh-Jharkhand border also collapsed, blocking the road for several hours.
