Lightning strike claims seven lives in northern Pakistan

[News_Editor]

Lightning strike claims seven lives in northern Pakistan

2011-07-10 22:45:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

BATTAGRAM, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least seven people were killed on Saturday when a lightning strike caused rocks to slide down a hill in northern Pakistan, destroying several homes, local media reported on Sunday.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported in its Sunday edition that the incident happened in a village about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) east of Battagram, a district in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It happened on Saturday evening when rains and thunderstorms moved through the area.

According to the newspaper report, lightning struck a small hill in the village near union council Shamlai, causing water and rocks to slide down the hill, destroying several houses. "After the lightning it was like lava gushing out of the hillock," resident Naeem Rehman told The Express Tribune.

Eight houses were completely destroyed by the slide while dozens more were damaged. Four bodies had been recovered as of Sunday while three others were presumed to have been killed. Those killed were two women and five children, the paper said, adding that 17 others were injured.

Late last month, 18 children were killed and 36 others were injured when lightning struck a primary school in the Kiryadongo district of Uganda. Lightning also struck other buildings throughout Uganda last month, killing more than 40 people combined.

According to a 2008 study by researchers Holle and Lopez for Finnish company Vaisala, lightning strikes each year kill an estimated 24,000 people and injure more than 240,000 others.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-10