Lightning strike kills 14 in northwest Pakistan

Lightning strike kills 14 in northwest Pakistan

Lightning

At least14people were killed and another three injured whenlightningstruck two houses in northwesternPakistan, officials said Sunday.

The incident took place in Torghar, a mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential monsoon rains and landslides have caused havoc since Wednesday.

"At least14people from the same extended family were killed afterlightningstruck two adjoined houses," Kamran Bangash, the provincial spokesman, told AFP.

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The dead included five children and four women, he added.

The monsoon, which usually lasts from June to September, is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing water supplies across the Indian subcontinent, but each year also brings a wave of destruction.

In a similar incident in November 2019, some 18 people were killed by alightningstrikeinPakistan's Thar desert.