Lightning kills 17 in Bangladesh

At least 17 people were killed and scores injured by lightning as a series of minor tropical storms and heavy rains swept across Bangladesh, police said yesterday.

Six people were killed in the northeastern district of Habiganj, 120 kilometres from capital Dhaka, and four more died in the southern district of Bagerhat after being struck by lightning during a tropical storm.

"Most of the dead were farmers who were cutting their rice paddy fields when they were hit by lightning," Habiganj police constable Shiblu Majumder said.

In the northern town of Haluaghat two teenage brothers died after being struck by lightning while they were looking after cattle in a field near their home, local police chief Fazlul Karim said.

Two people were killed in the country's central Chandpur district, local police inspector Mejbahuddin said. One of the dead was a boy whose two brothers who were also hit, and who remain hospitalised in critical condition, he added.

Three more people died in three different districts as rains pounded the country after a lengthy dry spell.