Raipur: As rain lashed Kalgaon village in Kanker district on Thursday evening, a group of villagers gathered under a tree for shelter. Moments later, a lightning strike left three people dead, including a deputy sarpanch, and injured five women.
The tragedy came as pre-monsoon thunderstorms, strong winds and showers swept through Raipur, Surguja, Korba and several other districts, bringing relief from the heat but prompting weather alerts across the state.
The lightning struck a worksite in Kalgaon village under Antagarh block. The deceased were identified as deputy sarpanch Manraj Patel, Santosh Patel and Prakash Patel.
Officials said around 70 villagers were engaged in pond-deepening work under a rural employment scheme when weather conditions suddenly deteriorated. As rain began, several workers took shelter under a tree. Lightning struck the spot, leaving eight people injured. Three men died, while five injured women were rushed to a community health centre and are undergoing treatment.
Kanker collector Nilesh Mahadev Kshirsagar said officials were sent to the site and arrangements made for treatment of the injured. The administration is monitoring the situation.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for thunderstorms, lightning and squally winds across Chhattisgarh for the next two days as favourable conditions continue to build for the advancement of the southwest monsoon. Meteorologists attributed the weather activity to cyclonic circulations over the Bay of Bengal and north India, along with an active trough drawing moisture into the region.
In Raipur, strong winds and rain created hazardous conditions on Thursday night. Amid the storm, a youth from Jharkhand's Gumla district fell into a drain in the Ganj area. With a power outage plunging the locality into darkness, a police patrol team spotted him and rescued him after a strenuous operation in the rain.
