VietNamNet Bridge – Since early May, about 40 people have been struck by lightning, and 10 of them have died.

The scene where seven soldiers were struck by lightning in Dien Bien on June 6.

While seeking shelter in a tent on a hill in Dak Su commune, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province in late afternoon on May 4, Mr. A K. Lanh, 41, and his wife , YA, 38,  residents of Dak Giao village of Dak Su commune, were struck by lightning. The man died on the spot while his wife was seriously injured and lost hearing.

Four days later, also in the province of Kon Tum, four people died and 15 others were wounded by lightning. The victims were members of the youth union of Kon Mang Tu village, Dak To Lung commune, Kon Ray district. These young people were planting cassava for a poor family in the village when a thunderstorm struck. They hid themselves in a hut on the field. The hut was struck by lightning, killing one 32-year-old man on the spot and injuring 18 others. Three people died at the hospital.

Similarly, in the afternoon of May 27, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thao, 43, a resident of Tien Thanh Commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province was struck to death by lightning on the way from a field to her home.

On June 2, two sisters Hoang Thi Dung, 46 and Hoang Thanh Quan, 24, residents of  Ho Nai 3 commune, Trang Bom District, Dong Nai province were found dead on the field, because of lightning. At the scene, Dung was found next to a hoe and her brother was holding the crank of a pumping machine.

Cellphone use

In the afternoon of May 25, it rained accompanied by thunder. Harvesting rice in the field, Mr. Lo Van Chung, 31, a resident of Thanh Luong commune in Dien Bien District of Dien Bien Province received a phone call. Immediately when the man pulled the cell phone from his pants pocket, he was struck by lightning. The young man died on the spot, and six others were injured.

Also using cell phone during thunderstorms, at 4pm on June 15, a 22-year-old man named Do Trong Vu in Tho Cuong commune, Trieu Son district, Thanh Hoa Province was struck to death by lightning. Three other children in the same village with Cuong were injured the same way while tending cows in a field.

On June 6, seven soldiers were thunderstruck while they were in operation through Ta Po village in Dien Bien Phu City. The incident killed one soldier on the spot and injured six others. This is the third lightning accident recorded in Dien Bien Province this year.

Le Ha