Eight people, including six students, were killed by lightning in the state of Chhattisgarh, the journalists of the regional administration reported.
The high school students were returning from school after exams when it started to rain. They hid under a tree. Six teenagers and two adults were killed by lightning. Another student was seriously injured.
Chhattisgarh authorities announced a compensation of 400,000 Indian rupees (about 4,800 USD) to the families of the victims.
India saw a sharp increase in deaths due to lightning strikes from 2010 to 2020, a study by the National Crime Records Bureau shows. The regions of the central and northeastern part of the republic, especially the rural areas, are most susceptible to these incidents. The number of lightning deaths in India annually is about 2000.