Hyderabad: Lightning in Sangareddy district claimed the lives of two persons on Monday morning, and critically injured a third.

C. Shakuntala and her son Chandrakanth were tending their fields on the outskirts of Abbenda in Narayankhed mandal, when it began raining heavily.

They took cover under a neem tree when lightning struck them. Chandrakanth worked for a private company in Hyderabad and had come home for Dasara.

One other person, Rajappa, who came out onto the terrace of his house to cover his soya crop from the rain, was hit by lightning and suffered severe burns. He was rushed to the district hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.