Forty killed in lightning strikes in Odisha, CM Naveen Patnaik announces compensation

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Bhubaneswar: At least 40 people were killed and more than 35 others were injured in lightning strikes in Odisha in the past 24 hours, media reports said on Saturday. 

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to the kin of those killed in the lightning strikes.

According to All India Radio News, at least 40 people have died while ANI has put the toll at 30.

And while lightning strikes are extremely common during monsoon season, they have been unusually frequent this year.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, since 2005, at least 2,000 people die in lightning strikes in India every year.