By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, March 18, 2015 :

In a tragic incident, six young cricketers, all aged between 10 and 21 years, were on Wednesday afternoon killed and 12 others injured, three of them seriously, when lightning struck them at Jaripada village about 40 km from here.

According to reports, the children hailing from Jaripada and Baunshamula villages, were playing cricket on the outskirts of the village in the afternoon when a heavy spell of rain accompanied by gale wind thunder suddenly lashed the area.

They youngsters immediately ran to a roadside house and took shelter there. All of a sudden lightning struck the house killing four youths on the spot.

Following information, police rushed to the spot and admitted the injured youths at Tangi hospital where two youths succumbed to their injuries.

The remaining injured youths were later shifted to Khurdha district headquarters hospital and Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar in the 108 ambulance after first aid treatment.

Of the three six deceased, three of them have been identified as Rahul Nayak, Okila Khan and Bibhu Parida while the identity of the three others were not immediately known till reports last came in.

Senior officials, including Khurda collector and tehsildar, have rushed to the Tangi hospital where the bodies of the six youths have been kept.

In Odisha Legislative Assembly, parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Keshari Arukh announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and free treatment for the injured.