At least 11 people died yesterday after being struck by lightning during thunderstorms in six districts.

Of them, four died in Cumilla, three in Kishoreganj, and one each in Netrakona, Sunamganj, Habiganj, and Shariatpur. Most of the victims were agricultural workers.

In Cumilla's Muradnagar upazila, two farmers, Jewel Bhuiyan, 35, and Nikhil Debnath, 60, were struck by lightning while harvesting paddy at a field in Korbanpur village, said Mahfuzur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Bangra Bazar Police Station.

Meanwhile, in Barura upazila, lightning struck two schoolboys while they were flying kites on a field in Poyalgachha village.

Md Jihad, 14, son of Billal Hossain, and Md Fahad, 13, son of Khokon Mia, were sixth-graders at Baraharipur High School.

Another child, Abu Sufian, 7, was injured and later admitted to Comilla Medical College Hospital, said Barura Police OC Kazi Nazmul Haque.

In Kishoreganj, three people died in Austagram and Mithamoin upazilas.

The deceased are Indrajit Das, 30, of Halalpur village in Austagram, Swadhin Miya, 14, son of Idris Miya of Khairpur village in Austagram, and Fulesa Begum, 60, of Raniganj village in Mithamoin.

Fulesa was hit by lightning while drying paddy straw near her house at Shantiganj Haor around 8:30am, said Mithamoin Police Sub-Inspector Arpan Biswas.

Lightning struck Indrajit and Swadhin while they were harvesting paddy in Halalpur Haor of Austagram upazila around 10:00am, said Austagram Police OC Md Ruhul Amin.

In Netrokona, 10-year-old Arafat, son of Abdus Salam of Tiyoshree village, was struck by lightning on his way to a madrasa in Madan upazila around 6:30am, said Madan Upazila Nirbahi Officer Aliduzzaman.

In Sunamganj, lightning struck a young man as he was bringing back his cattle from a nearby haor during a thunderstorm around 7:00am.

Rimon Talukder, 20, was an undergrad student at Shalla Government Degree College and a resident of Atgaon village, said Shalla Police OC Shafiqul Islam.

In Habiganj, Durbas Das, 35, died, and three others were injured in separate incidents of lightning strikes in Baniachong upazila.

The injured were taken to Sylher MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital, Azadur Rahman, district relief and disaster management officer, told UNB.

In Shariatpur, Shefali Begum, 35, was hit by lightning while collecting grass for her cattle at a field in Bhedarganj upazila around 3:30pm.

Sakhipur Police Station OC Obaidul Haque said she died at a hospital.

Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTAF), an NGO monitoring lightning-related casualties since 2019, reports that 1,322 people lost their lives to lightning strikes between 2019 and 2023, averaging 264 deaths annually.

[Our correspondents from Cumilla, Kishoreganj, Netrakona, Sylhet, and Shariatpur contributed to the report.]