Over 24 Hours of Storms, Lightning Kills 74

Lightning has killed 74 people, mostly farm laborers working in fields, across eastern and northern India over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday. A majority of the deaths occurred in the eastern state of Bihar, where 57 people died after being struck by lightning—with the death toll expected to rise as reports come in from remote districts of the state. The dead include at least eight shepherds watching their sheep, along with scores of cattle, a disaster management official told the AP on Wednesday. At least 24 others were injured when thunderstorms and monsoon rains lashed 14 districts of the state.

Ten people were killed by lightning in neighboring Jharkhand state, six in northern Uttar Pradesh state, and another in Maharashtra, police said. Lightning strikes are common during India's monsoon season, which runs from June to September. However, the recent toll is unusually high. At least 2,000 people have died in lightning strikes in India every year since 2005, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. (More India stories.)