On Friday, 3 November, heavy rains lashed various districts like Madurai, Dindigul, Tenkasi, and Tiruchy where the accidents occurred.
Lightning strikes in different parts of Tamil Nadu resulted in 5 deaths. (Wikimedia Commons)
Five people died and nearly 20 others were injured in lightning strikes in the state on Friday, 3 November, after heavy rains of the Northeast Monsoon lashed various districts.
According to the Madurai district police, on Friday evening, a group of people were carrying the body of one Iyammal (70), a resident of Keeranur, to the cremation ground in the village.
During the last rites, it began to pour and people took cover under a tamarind tree. It was then that lightning struck the tree and the people under it were electrocuted.
Selva (23) and Agniraja (25), relatives of Iyammal, died on the spot. About 18 people were injured in the accident.
All were rushed to Poovanthi Primary Health Centre and, from there, six people were referred to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai to be treated at the Burns Ward and the rest where shifted to Government Sivagangai Medical College Hospital.
In another incident, a 35-year-old folk artist, Velmurugan, from Kottaiyur village in Dindigul district, was struck by the lightning when he was trying to move his cattle from the rain into a shed. Velmurugan died on the spot.
In Thathankottai village in Dindigul, Vijayalakshmi, a mother of two children, was killed after lighting struck her when she stepped out of the house. The police subsequently rushed to the spot and her body was sent to Dindigul Government Hospital for postmortem.
In Tenkasi district, an Army soldier died on the spot after being electrocuted by lighting while he was working in his family’s agricultural land. According to the Tenkasi police, the jawan, Mahalingam, had gone to his hometown of Devipattinam village near Sankarankovil during his leave.
In Tiruchy district, three women were injured in a lighting strike near Manapparai. According to the district police, Manimegalai, Muthulakshmi, and Periyakkal — all residents of Vaguthalvarpatti village — were working in their farm during the rains.
The police said that Manimegalai had placed her mobile phone in her saree at the hip and when lightning struck, the mobile phone burst and left her injured. The two other ladies who were with her also fell unconscious.
All the three women were rescued by the neighbours and were taken to Manapparai Government Hospital for treatment.
Manapparai MLA Abdul Samad visited them in the hospital and instructed adequate medical attention to the injured women.
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