At least 17 people were killed and 15 were injured in Bangladesh when lightning strikes - a common feature in the South Asian monsoon season - struck a wedding party on Wednesday in Bangladesh. Among the dead included seven members of a single-family.  

The incident happened in the northwestern district of Shibganj, where a wedding party was going on in the South Char Paka area this afternoon, reported The Dhaka Tribune. 

A boat, carrying people for the wedding ceremony, was forced to dock at the Tellikhari Ferry Ghat amid heavy rain, forcing people to take shelter under a thatched shed there, a local official informed. 

"Suddenly, a thunderbolt hit them, killing 15 on the spot while two others died on the way to the hospital," the officer said, adding that 12 of the deceased are male and five are female.

Other injured were later sent to the district hospital. Four of the injured people remained in a very critical position, the report said.

Lightning strikes are one of the deadliest in Bangladesh - and even in neighbouring India - claiming over 200 lives every year which is exacerbated by the loss of natural defense and lack of precautionary measures.

In the last decade, around 2,164 people died in lightning strikes in different parts of the country, according to the data given by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. 

At least 216 people die every year on average in lightning strikes--way more than those killed by floods, cyclones, and other natural calamities in the country. Most such strikes happen between April to June. 

(SAM)