Lightning killed 21 people in eastern India as large swathes of the country reel under the worst floods in years that have left hundreds dead and millions displaced, officials said Monday.
Eighteen people were killed in Odisha state, authorities there said. Another three died in Jharkhand state further north.
About 10 people were injured by the widespread bolts as storms erupted over rice paddies.
Most of the victims were working in fields when lightning struck them, disaster management authority officials said.
But in Jharkhand, two brothers in Kharswan district were killed when the lightning penetrated the thatched roof of their house.
The national meteorological department warned more lightning storms were expected through Tuesday.
Torrential rains have wreaked havoc across several other Indian states, damaging roads and electricity networks, with about 700 dead reported across the country.
In the western state of Gujarat, 213 people have been killed in weeks of flooding, state disaster management officials said, almost doubling the death toll after about 100 bodies were found when water started receding.
AFP
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