Lightning strike kills six while fishing in Pabna

Six people were killed and three others injured in a lightning strike while fishing at a wetland in Pabna Sadar upazila on Friday afternoon.

The incident occurred at Sonapati Beel in Gopinathpur area of Malanchi Union during rain and thunderstorms.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Pabna Sadar Police Station Tarikul Islam confirmed the casualties.

According to eyewitnesses and local sources, heavy rain and intense lightning suddenly swept through the area in the afternoon, triggering panic among residents.

At the time, several teenagers and young men who had gone fishing at the beel took shelter from the rain in a makeshift hut inside the wetland. The shelter, made of polythene sheets, was directly struck by lightning.

Local residents rushed to the spot and recovered six dead people, while three others were injured.

Kabir Hossain Babu, chairman of Malanchi Union Parishad, said all the deceased were teenagers or young men. They had taken shelter in the makeshift polythene-covered hut when lightning struck it, killing six on the spot.

The three injured were rescued and taken to Pabna Sadar Hospital for treatment, he added.

Police and local administration have begun efforts to identify the deceased. Police are also collecting necessary information from the scene.

The incident has cast a pall of grief over the locality.

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