NEW DELHI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were killed and eight others injured after lightning struck India's eastern state of Odisha, officials said Monday.
The casualties were reported in Bhadrak, Baleshwar and Kendrapara districts in the northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha.
"Five people were killed in Bhadrak and three each were killed in Baleshwar and Kendrapara districts," a local government official told media. "Those who sustained burns due to lightning discharge were admitted in district hospitals at respective places."
Most of the victims killed in the lightning were laborers working in their paddy fields or standing close to trees.
Last week, lightning killed three in adjacent state of Andhra Pradesh.
As per India's National Crime Records Bureau, at least 2,000 people have died in lightning strikes in India every year since 2005.
Meanwhile, several districts of Odisha have experienced heavy rains triggering monsoon floods. Various tributaries of rivers are flowing above the danger level at different places.
