The iconic Taj Mahal was damaged due to a deadly thunderstorm that struck parts of northern India. Officials confirmed that sections of the Taj Mahal complex, including the main gate and a railing running below its five lofty domes, were damaged in the storm on Friday evening in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh state. India’s top tourist attraction has been shut since mid-March as part of measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Archaeologist Basant Kumar Swarnkar told that some trees on the premises were uprooted and one door was damaged. The false ceiling in the mausoleum was also uprooted, he said, while a tree fell in Mehtab Bagh and Mariam’s Maqbara of the tomb. He added there was no damage to the main structure of the monument to love — built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth in 1631. Local media reports said thunderstorms and lightning on Friday killed at least 13 people in two Uttar Pradesh districts. Fatal lightning strikes are relatively common during the June-October monsoon season. Last year, at least 150 people were killed by lightning in August and September in Madhya Pradesh.