Six people have died in lightning strikes in three southeastern districts – two in Cox’s Bazar, three in Rangamati, and one in Khagrachhari. The incidents occurred from dawn until noon on Thursday. COX’S BAZAR Two salt farmers died when lightning struck them in Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua as they were trying to protect their salt from the rain. The dead were identified as Md Didar Hossain, 25, from Magnama Union, and Arafatur Rahman, 13, from Rajakhali Union. It had been drizzling in Pekua with intermittent lightning strikes from early on Thursday, said Md Saiful Islam Joy, Pekua Upazila executive officer, citing locals. Didar and two to three members of his family were trying to cover the salt in the fields with polythene bags when he was struck by lightning and killed on the spot. Arafatur had also gone to the fields with his family to complete the same task around the same time when he was struck dead by lightning. The families took their bodies home, the Pekua Upazila UNO said. RANGAMATI Three people died and at least seven others were injured in lightning strikes in Rangamati Sadar and Baghaichhari Upazila. The dead were identified as 50-year-old Md Nazir, from the district town’s Sylhet Para, 55-year-old Baharjan Begum and 37-year-old Tanibala Tripura from Baghaichhari. Baharjan Begum from the Muslim Block area of Ward-7 had gone to get the cows when the lightning struck, said Rupakari Union Parishad Chairman Jasmin Chakma. “We had rain and lightning after many days,” said Shirin Akhtar, the Baghaichhari Upazila executive officer. “A woman named Baharjan from Rupakari Union and another woman named Tanibala Tripura died.” The Upazila administration has given their families Tk 10,000 in compensation, the UNO said. Seven others were chatting at a tea stall in the Upazila when lightning struck nearby around 9:30am, she said. Dr Shawkat Akbar of Rangamati General Hospital said a man named Nazir, who had been killed in a lightning strike, was brought to the hospital from the Sylhet Para area on Thursday morning. KHAGRACHHARI A young man was killed while trying to pick mangoes in the rain in Khagrachhari’s Matiranga Upazila. The deceased, Yasin Arafat, is the son of Yusuf Mia from Ibrahim Para in Ward No. 9 of Baranal Union. Two brothers went to pick mangoes near the front yard of their house, said Mohammad Ilias Hossain, the chairman of Baranal Union Parishad, citing locals. A sudden lightning strike killed the elder brother Yasin on the spot. Financial support will be provided to the victim’s family, said Daisy Chakrabarty, the Matiranga UNO.

Police have arrested controversial social worker Milton Samadder, founder of Child and Old Age Care in Dhaka’s Mirpur, after media reports suggested he might have been running a racket of organ harvesters. Additional Commissioner Harunor Rashid, chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch, said they apprehended Milton in Mirpur on Wednesday evening. Besides the care home in Mirpur, Milton is chairman of Child and Old Age Care Foundation and Milton Home Care Private Limited, according to his Facebook page. Hailing from Barishal, Milton claims to have a diploma in nursing from Chandraghona Christian Hospital. He describes the care home as an ashram. His Facebook page showcases photos and videos capturing his efforts in helping children and the elderly. Influential people, including ministers, visited the centre in Mirpur’s Paikpara, as evidenced by photos shared on Facebook. Milton has posted on his Facebook account more than 10 mobile banking donation numbers. In a media briefing after the arrest, Harunor said locals forced Milton out of his home after he had physically assaulted his father. Milton then started working in a pharmacy in Shahbagh, but lost the job on allegations of stealing medicines, according to the chief of DMP’s DB. Harunor said they detained Milton following allegations made in media reports. They will question him about the allegations after filing a case against him. “He has a lot of allegations against him and we will thoroughly investigate those,” he said. “Media reports say Milton has an operation theatre there. He buries most of the bodies at night. It has been reported in the media that elderly people are not treated in the ashram. He forged the doctor's seal to make the death certificates himself,” the DMP additional commissioner added. “He buried 900 bodies but could not show the documents of 800 bodies. Those who bathed the body also found blood stains near the kidneys. We will ask him why he does not take death certificates.” Harunor said Milton claims to have 600-700 beneficiaries in two ashrams in Savar and Mirpur, but media reports suggest the number is only 30 to 40. “We will interrogate him to find out how many people he had there, how many people died, whether he sells kidneys or not – we will investigate these things.” Milton is also accused of human trafficking, attacking children and beating relatives of beneficiaries, the police officer said. “We will look into everything.”

A collapse of an expressway section in China's Guangdong province caused vehicles to plunge and killed 36 people while injuring another 30, state media reported on Thursday, as millions in the country travel for the May Day holiday break. The collapse, triggered by heavy rain, occurred at around 2:10am on Wednesday on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway, Xinhua news agency reported, adding that the collapsed section was 17.9 metres in length and caused 23 vehicles to plunge. Meizhou is one of the areas in southern China's Guangdong that has been badly hit by heavy rain and hail since late April which set off dangerous mudslides, inundated homes and destroyed bridges. President Xi Jinping called for the utmost efforts to save lives and eliminate dangers as the rainy weather continued in the region, according to a Xinhua report. Task forces from the central and local governments have been dispatched for the rescue work, the report added.