Struck by lightning while talking on the phone under a tree

Mr. Tri was found dead under a pine tree after a loud explosion when it was about to rain. Next to his body was a broken phone.

At 3:00 p.m. on March 26, Pham Quoc Tri (37 years old, Nam N'Jang commune, Dak Song district, Dak Nong province) and his wife and child went to work in the garden for hire. While Tri was pouring manure on the pepper plants, it showed signs of rain.

Everyone heard a loud explosion, then Mr. Tri's son's scream for help. When they reached the pine tree where he was lying face down, the son said that his father had been struck by lightning and asked for help, but the victim had already died.

Where Mr. Tri had the accident. Photo:TN

Nam N'Jang Commune Police said that in addition to the lightning strike on the pine tree, authorities also found Mr. Tri's broken phone. It is possible that the victim was struck by lightning while using the phone under the tree.

According to local residents, Tri’s family is very poor, and two of his three children had to drop out of school to help their parents with their daily chores. In addition to the 2 million VND provided by the commune, neighbors also donated money to help the family bury the victim.

Experts recommend that people should not use, or even carry, their phones when going out in a thunderstorm because lightning always chooses the easiest path to the ground, so someone standing and using a cell phone seems to have created a path of least resistance.

According to Express-M