Jakarta Globe | August 23, 2011
Lightning strikes over the past two days have killed six Indonesian workers and injured five others in Asia's lightning capital of Malaysia.
The first three casualties occurred at a housing construction site in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Monday.
Three Indonesian workers died, whilst three others sustained injuries after lightning struck during a heavy afternoon downpour.
The dead were identified as Hazarin,29, Surady, 31, and Mohd Nasir, 46.
A woman Som, 20 is the only one of the injured to be identified.
Fellow countryman, Sunartom, 42, said all the workers from the site had stopped working and returned to their quarters because of the thunderstorm.
But when the lightning struck the six victims were still outside.
“Three of them were found dead moments later, while three others sustained bodily injuries,” he told the Malaysian news agency, Bernama.
Shah Alam police chief ACP Zahedi Ayob confirmed the incident and said all the victims had been taken to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital.
Meanwhile Hulu Selangor, Malaysia three more Indonesian men were also struck by lightning at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, while working on a vegetable farm in Sungai Choh.
The three were taken to the Kuala Kubu Hospital where they later died from their injuries.
The three who died were identified as Rohmat, 28, Sugiran, 28 and Roni Dwi Jatmiko, 29.
Hulu Selangor Police Chief Supt Norel Azmi Yahya Affandi said two other workers, not yet identified, were also injured.
Malaysia is well-known for its lightning strikes, with the capital Kuala Lumpur ranked 5th in the world in terms of lightning density.
The National Lightning Safety Institute of the United States said that Kuala Lumpur has 48.3 lightning strikes hit the ground for every square kilometer of real estate.
Malaysia’s most lightning prone areas including Subang, Bayan Lepas and Kluang are said to have up to 180 to 200 thunderstorm days a year.
Compared to Florida — the lightning capital of the United Sates — which only has 90 to 110 thunderstorm days a year.
di 23 aug 2011 - 8:34