While lightning strikes may have killed nearly 100 people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on a traumatic Tuesday, this natural phenomenon has wreaked deadlier havoc in the past. Here are some electrifying stories of places zapped by deadly lightning strikes.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 23, 2016 12:30 IST
They say lightning doesn't ever strike twice. But when it does, it can be more than devastating. Here's a look at some of the massive destruction and loss of lives caused by lightning.
When lightning killed 3,000 people
In the past, people believed that ringing church bells was enough to ward off lightning strikes. Many medieval church bells had the inscription Fulgura Frango which means "I break up lightning flashes."
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Back in the day, vaults in castles and churches stored tonnes of gunpowder. In Brescia, Italy in 1769, lightning struck the Church of St. Nazaire and ignited 90 tonnes of gunpowder in its vaults. The massive explosion killed 3,000 people and destroyed a sixth of the city.
In 1660, lightning ignited the gunpowder stored at Osaka Castle, Japan. The resultant explosion was so huge that it burned the entire structure to its foundation.
Fuel monty
In November 1994, a lightning strike caused fuel tanks in Dronka, Egypt to explode, causing 469 fatalities . Families were wiped out in seconds, while the entire farming village was burnt to ashes.
Holy cow!
In October 2005, lightning bolts killed 68 dairy cows on a farm in New South Wales, Australia. The cows were clustered together in a paddock about to be milked when they were struck by lightning.
Zapped while playing cricket
In February 2013, nine South African children were hospitalized after a lightning incident on a cricket field at their school. Five children were injured on the pitch along with four girls who were walking home. Interestingly, legendary South African pacer Allan Donald was known as White Lightning.
Rock festival turned shock festival
On 4 June, 2016, a rock festival in western Germany was suspended after scores of people were injured in a lightning storm. More than 70 people were hospitalized when lightning struck the famous Rock am Ring festival.
Girl who fell from the sky
In December 1971, Flight 508 from Lima to Pucallpa in Peru crashed after a lightning strike ignited a fuel tank. All 91 people aboard were killed. The sole survivor was Juliane Koepcke, who fell 2 miles (3.2 km) down into the Amazon rainforest strapped to her seat and remarkably survived. She was then able to walk through the jungle for 10 days until she was rescued by local timber men.
Other incidents of lightning fatalities in the air
On 8 December 1963, Pan Am Flight 214 crashed outside Elkton, Maryland, during a severe electrical storm, killing all 81 passengers and crew.
On 14 November 1969, the Apollo 12 mission's Saturn V rocket and its ionized exhaust plume became part of a lightning flash channel 36.5 seconds after lift-off. Although the discharge occurred "through" the metal skin and framework of the vehicle, it did not ignite the rocket's highly combustible fuel.
On 19 January 2014, a light aircraft crashed and burst into flames on a beach in eastern Indonesia after being hit by lightning, killing all four people on board.
Did you know?
Roy Sullivan held a Guinness World Record after surviving seven different lightning strikes over 35 years. He lost the nail on one of his big toes, and suffered multiple injuries to the rest of his body. Now, that's what we call lucky.
Also read: Lightning kills 56 in Bihar, 42 in UP in last 24 hours
Published By:
AtMigration
Published On:
Jun 22, 2016
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