After the thunderclap, 6 people sheltered from the rain under a tarpaulin stretched under a motorbike that was thrown far away, their limbs paralyzed and unconscious.

On the morning of May 29, Mr. Dinh Khac Dinh (Vice Chairman of Thua Thien - Hue Provincial People's Committee) and leaders of An Hoa ward visited three victims of lightning who are being treated at Hue Central Hospital. The remaining three have recovered and returned home.

Lying on his hospital bed, his voice weak, Mr. Ho Nghia (48 years old) said that in the early afternoon of May 28, seeing the sky clear and sunny, he and his son Ho Linh (17 years old) went down to Bau Mieu field in An Hoa ward to sow seeds for the new crop.

A damaged motorbike with a torn tarpaulin cover in Bau Mieu field, An Hoa ward. Photo: Dac Duc.

An hour later, the sunny sky suddenly became gloomy, with dark clouds rolling in. Knowing that a storm was coming, the father and son stopped working in the fields, but as soon as they reached the dike, the rain poured down. Quickly grabbing a tarp used to cover the bags of rice seeds, the father and son, along with Mr. Nguyen Van Toan (46 years old), quickly pulled the tarp across the motorbike to make a shelter from the rain in the middle of the field.

At this time, inside the "field hut" there was the youngest child Ho Bin (12 years old, Mr. Nghia's son) herding cows and two brothers Phan Minh Quyen (12 years old) and Phan Minh Thuyet (14 years old) who were going out to take shelter from the rain.

“The rain was so heavy, we just hugged each other to avoid getting wet. After about 10 minutes, I heard a loud explosion, lightning struck the place where 6 people were huddled,” Mr. Nghia said, adding that everyone was thrown in many directions. Mr. Nghia felt himself thrown about 2 meters away from where he was sitting before losing consciousness.

“When I woke up, my whole body was aching and I couldn’t move my legs. I looked around and saw Linh lying motionless, his limbs contracted,” Mr. Nghia said.

Struck by lightning while using a metal-bladed rice-swinging stick (with a bamboo handle) to prop up a tarpaulin, Mr. Nguyen Van Toan said that after the lightning, his body could no longer move, he smelled burnt, and both of his pants legs were burned black. However, Mr. Toan still tried to call his son Nguyen Van Trung (24 years old) who was standing at the edge of the rice field to come to his rescue. “I tried to call Trung, save me, there was a strong electric shock. He looked up and saw everyone lying in different directions, so he thought we were joking. Next to where Trung was standing, a small tractor with its engine running was also struck by lightning and flew up to the edge of the rice field,” Mr. Toan said.

Mr. Le Van Anh, one of the farmers present at the scene, said that when they ran to help, the children were mumbling and could not make any sound. The remaining 3 victims were not unconscious, so people used motorbikes to carry them into the house, then called an ambulance to take them straight to Hue Central Hospital.

On the same day, thunderstorms and lightning also caused Le Van Tuong (42 years old, resident of Huong An commune, Huong Tra town) to be struck by lightning and killed while operating a tractor in the middle of the field.

By the morning of May 29, Mr. Toan was still paralyzed and had swelling in both lower limbs. In the bed next to him, Mr. Ho Nghia and his son were in pain all over their bodies.

Ms. Tran Thi Le, Vice Chairwoman of An Hoa Ward, said this was the first time in the locality that lightning struck 6 people at once. The government will step up propaganda to advise people to avoid and take shelter safely when storms occur.

Mr. Phan Thanh Hung, Chief of Office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Thua Thien - Hue province, said that Hue is being affected by a prolonged tropical depression, creating unstable weather patterns, with temperatures changing between hot and cold, causing thunderstorms to often appear in the late afternoon. This situation is forecast to last until the end of May.

According to Mr. Hung, when working in the fields, people should avoid contact with metal objects, bare mounds of earth, and low bushes; instead, they should find a dry, solid place to hide when a thunderstorm occurs. “Standing on your toes and bending low is a method that people can apply when in the middle of the field; mobile devices should not be used... Those who are at home should immediately turn off the TV, signal receiving devices, and not stand near windows,” Mr. Hung advised.

Previously, at around 2:00 p.m. on May 28, a heavy rain and thunderstorm that lasted for more than an hour in many districts of Thua Thien - Hue killed one person and injured six others while working in the fields.

In early May, in Huong Tho commune (Huong Tra town), Nguyen Thanh Tu (23 years old, living in Thach Ha village) and his brother went to harvest rice. While preparing to go home, Tu was struck by lightning and died.

According to VnExpress