Lightning kills man in Dong Thap

TUOI TRE

A lightning strike killed one man in Dong Thap Province yesterday and severely injured two others when they were sheltering from rain in a hut in a paddy field.

Vo Van Cuong, 33, died on the spot while Nguyen Van Qui, 39, and Nguyen Van Hiep, 36 were severely burnt, Tran Van Nghi, chairman of Thuong Thoi Tien commune, Hong Ngu District, said.

A violent rainstorm broke out when the three men and some others were harvesting rice, and all took shelter in the hut, he said. 

All the victims were from the commune’s Thuong hamlet. 

Qui and Hiep were taken to the Hong Ngu General Hospital in critical condition.

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Vietnam Airlines plane hit by lightning in Paris

TUOITRENEWS

Vietnam Airlines yesterday (Wednesday) admitted that its plane was struck by lightning when parking at an airport in Paris last month.

The national carrier told the press that the plane bearing VN534 flight number supposed to carry 230 passengers and one child was due to depart from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport for Hanoi at 14:10 local time on April 24.

140 passengers bought tickets from Vietnam Airlines and the rest from Air France.

But lightning hit the outer cover of the plane’s engine, causing the flight to be cancelled.

The lightning-struck plane is being under repair.

Vietnam Airlines said it had transferred some passengers who needed to fly immediately to flights from other airlines.

Those volunteering to take a Vietnam Airlines flight the next day were provided with free accommodation and food at a hotel in Paris, the state-owned company said.

The Vietnam Airlines’ admission came on the same day when two farmers in the southern province of An Giang were struck dead by lightning as they were watering their rice fields.

Local police said Tran Van Manh and Tran Van Tong were running home as a rainstorm approached and were struck by lightning.