Lightning strikes kill 27 during monsoon storm in eastern India

Lightning kills at least 27 people, four passengers on a flight hospitalised after monsoon storms in West Bengal.

Lightning strikes have killed 27 people and sent four passengers on a flight to hospital after severe turbulence during monsoon storms in eastern India, officials said. Officials said West Bengal was hit by thunderstorms late Monday, with lightning strikes in parts of the state – a fairly common occurrence during the June to September annual monsoon in the country. “Many of the 27 killed on Monday evening… in the state were farmers and working in the fields,” West Bengal disaster management minister Javed Ahmed Khan told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.