A 47-year-old man and his son were injured and three cows were killed in a lightning strike near Vaniyambadi and Natrampalli towns in Tirupattur on Sunday.
When the incident occurred, the injured— K. Saravanan, a staff at a private engineering college in Vaniyambadi, and his son S. Magesh, 20, a college student— had taken their two cows for grazing on the outskirts of the Vellakuttai village near Vaniyambadi town, the police said.
When it began to rain, the duo, along with the two cows, took shelter under a mango tree. However, at around 2 p.m., the tree was struck by lightning, killing the cows on the spot. The father and son survived while sustaining injuries. Farmers and other residents rushed them to the Government Taluk Hospital in the Vaniyambadi town. From there, duo was shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore for further treatment. A case has been registered.
In a separate incident, a three-year-old cow died after being hit by lightning at Mallagunda village near Jolarpet town in Tirupattur on Sunday. According to the police, the owner of the cow, S. Perumal, 45, had tied the animal to a thatched cowshed in his house when the lightning struck.
