Bhubaneswar: A youth died while his sister was seriously injured in a lightning strike in a forest near Subarnagiri village under Kotagarh police limits in Kandhamal district on Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Mukesh Pradhani.
According to reports, Mukesh, his sister Supriya and a few other villagers of Subarnagiri village had gone to a forest near their village to collect mahua flowers. While they were busy collecting mahua flowers, suddenly heavy rain accompanied by lightning occurred in the area.
To protect themselves from rain Mukesh and Supriya took shelter under the trees and were struck by lightning.
While Mukesh died on the spot, Supriya sustained critical burns. Others had a narrow escape.
Supriya was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
