83 people die from a thunderstorm in India

Patna, India — Eighty-three people, mostly farmworkers, were killed by lightning strikes during the storm today in eastern India’s Bihar state, according to an official.

Many of them were impacted when they planted seeds in 23 of the 38 districts of the state, the government reported in a statement.

The dead included 13 people working in fields in the Gopalganj district, 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of Patna, the capital of Bihar state, said official Upendra Pal. The other cases were recorded in different parts of the state.

Pal added that at least 10 other people were injured and receive medical attention.

The region has been hit by downpours at the start of the monsoon rainy season. In July last year, 39 people were killed when struck by lightning in Bihar, also during the monsoon, which lasts until September.

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