At least 11 people were killed when lightning struck near a tourist site in India

(CNN) – At least 11 people died Sunday night after lightning struck near a popular tourist site in the city of Jaipur, in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.

Lightning struck Amer Fort on the outskirts of the city, according to Shankar Lal Saini, a senior disaster management official in Jaipur.

“There was a tower there. When the lightning struck, the tower wall collapsed and many people were buried under it. As the fort is on a hill, as debris fell and the space was reduced, some people also fell into a ditch “Saini told CNN.

The incident occurred at 6.30 p.m. Sunday and police and civil defense forces officials carried out rescue operations until 7 a.m. Monday, according to Saini.

Among the 11 bodies recovered were women and children. The victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at the city’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

11 people rescued reported

Another 11 people were rescued and are in stable condition, Saini said. The people at the fort included both locals and tourists, he added.

“As it is a mountainous area and there are many trees, the rescue teams continued searching until the morning in case someone was left behind, but all the people have already been found,” said Saini.

According to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, several people were also killed by lightning strikes in other parts of Rajasthan. Gehlot asked officials in a tweet on Sunday to provide immediate assistance to the families of the deceased.

Prime Minister Modi’s message

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter.

“Many people have lost their lives due to lightning in some areas of Rajasthan. This has hurt a lot. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased: PM @narendramodi”, the prime minister’s office tweeted Monday morning.

Deaths from lightning strikes are common in India and the South Asian region in May and June of each year.

There were 2,885 deaths attributed to lightning in 2017 and 2,357 in 2018, according to India’s National Bureau of Criminal Records.

In June 2020, at least 107 people were killed by lightning strikes in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in just two days.