India: Eight killed in lightning strikes as unseasonal rainfall hits Gujarat

Eight people were killed in lightning strikes in Gujarat's Mehsana, Dahod, Sabarkantha, Tapi, Botad, Amreli and Ahmedabad as the west Indian state has been hit by unseasonal rainfall.

Police said a 22-year-old biker died in Botad taluka after being struck by lightning, while a 29-year-old man died after a tree fell on an autorickshaw in Mehsana district, PTI reported.

Two farmers died in Tapi district, and one each in Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Mehsana, and Dahod districts in lightning strikes that accompanied the rains, the police said, adding that lightning strikes killed cattle and sheep in some places as well.

Gujarat received widespread unseasonal rain accompanied by thunderstorms on Sunday. Citing data from the State Emergency Operation Centre, PTI reported that 220 of 251 talukas of Gujarat received up to 50 mm of rainfall in 10 hours since 6 am. Ahmedabad received 15 mm of rainfall for two hours in the morning.

Earlier on Sunday, Manorama Mohanty, the director of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) centre in Ahmedabad, said the rain forecast was only for Sunday.

"It will abate by tomorrow and remain concentrated in some parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra districts," Mohanty told reporters.

Earlier, the IMD said that rain was being caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over the northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions.

The weather bureau added that apart from light rainfall forecast for Monday in some parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra districts, the state would experience dry weather from Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)