9 dead, several injured in West Bengal due to lightning

At least nine persons died and at least 12 were injured in several districts of West Bengal due to incidents of a lightning strike and wall collapse because of heavy rainfall since Thursday evening, a state disaster management department official said.

While four persons were killed due to lightning strikes in Hooghly district, one from Birbhum district died the same way on Friday, he said.

One death each was reported from Purba Burdwan district's Katwa and Mangalkote because of wall collapse.

Lightning caused the deaths of one person each in Howrah and South 24 Parganas districts Friday, the official said.

"The injured are undergoing treatment at various hospitals," he said.