Lightning kills youth as massive hailstorm batters Lolab Valley

A youth was killed and another injured after lightning struck them in Chandigam area of Lolab in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Sunday, officials said.

They said Abid Rahim Ganie, 23, son of Abdul Rahim Ganie, and Faizan Rahman Dar, 24, son of Abdul Rahman, both residents of Chandigam Lolab, were hit by lightning during severe weather conditions in the area.

The duo was immediately rushed to Sub-District Hospital Sogam, where doctors declared Abid Rahim Ganie brought dead, officials said.

They said Faizan Rahman Dar was referred to Government Medical College Handwara for further treatment.

Meanwhile, authorities handed over the body of the deceased to his legal heirs after completion of medico-legal formalities.

A massive hailstorm also lashed several parts of Lolab, damaging orchards and crops and causing losses to farmers in the area.

“We have never witnessed such huge hailstones in recent years. Orchards and standing crops have suffered extensive damage within minutes,” said a local farmer.(KNS).