Dhaka, Aug 4

 At least 17 members of a wedding party travelling on a boat were killed on Wednesday during a massive lightning strike in Bangladesh's Chapainawabganj district, some 302 km northwest of capital Dhaka, a senior official said.

Sakib Al Rabbi, head of Chapainawabganj's Shibganj sub-district administration, told Xinhua over the phone that "17 people were killed on the spot after lightning struck a wedding party boat".

The incident took place at a boat terminal on the bank of the river Padma on Wednesday noon.

The boat carrying dozens of people of the wedding party was crossing the river amid a heavy downpour.

After the boat anchored at a terminal on the riverbank, it was struck by a massive lightning, killing 17 people and injuring 6 others.

Lightning strikes over the past couple of months have killed scores and has been on the rise over the past few years.

Experts here blame the rise in lightning strike deaths directly on climate change that made Bangladesh more vulnerable to the impacts.
 

ians