Upazila Representative : Two persons were killed by lightning strikes at Debiganj upazila in Panchagarh district on Monday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Solaiman Ali, 28, son of Fazal Haq of Debiduba Darar Haat area, and Hamidul Islam, 38, son of Abdus Samad of Araji Sundardighi area in the upazila.

Witnesses said Solaiman was struck by thunderbolt when he was lifting sand from river by dredger.

He was rushed to Sadar Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.

Meanwhile, lightning struck Hamidul when he was working at paddy field.

Debiganj Police Station inspector (investigation) Bazlur Rashid said the bodies were handed over to the respective families.

Lightning strikes are common in Bangladesh. Nearly 250 people were killed by lightning between February and September 2019, according to official statistics. In 2018, some 359 people died in lightning strikes.

In 2015, the Bangladesh government declared lightning as a natural disaster.