At least 32 people were killed by lightning across India's northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh during monsoon storms, officials and news reports said Saturday.
Twenty-one people were killed in eight districts in the eastern state of Bihar in a 24-hour period since Friday evening, the ANI news agency reported.
While most victims were directly hit by the strikes, some deaths were also reported after thatched huts and trees collapsed. The victims were "mostly farmers or homeless (people) who were outdoors."
Eleven other people were killed in similar incidents in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, state disaster management officials said. Lightning strikes and storms are common in India during the monsoon season that stretches between June and September. Dozens of people have been killed in such incidents in northern India in recent days.
Last week, over 100 people were killed in lightning strikes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on one single day.
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