A man, working as an employee of the horticulture department in Gurugram, lost his life on Friday after lightning struck a tree under which he had been standing to avoid getting drenched in the rain.
Three other men standing along with him under the tree sustained injuries, while one among them is still admitted in the intensive care unit due to severe burns.
The exact moment when lightning struck
A video of the incident that has been widely shared by people on social media shows how the four men standing under a tree were jolted and collapsed instantly when the lightning flashed.
For those who have already watched the video, it seems very likely for the men to have survived under such horrific circumstances.
The incident took place at Vatika Signature Villas in Sector 82 of Gurugram, Haryana, on Friday afternoon.
The four horticulture staffers employed at Vatika Signature Villas decided to take shelter under a tree in order to avoid the rain but little did they know that a thunderbolt would land at their feet, risking their lives even further.
A CCTV footage, taken from a building on the opposite end of the road, shows three people collapse within seconds after lightning struck the tree, while the fourth man, who can be seen as leaning against the tree, falls on the ground a second later.
Lightning-related deaths in India
The four men, identified as Shivdutt, a resident of Aliganj, Lali, Ram Prasad Sundar and their supervisor Anil who is a resident of Lohargarh, were immediately shifted to a private hospital in Manesar.
While Shivdutt, Lali and Kumar are stable and undergoing treatment at Medeor hospital, only 38-year-old Ram Prasad succumbed to injuries on late Friday night.
The police have taken statements of the surviving victims. In Ram Prasad's case, the police said that further investigations will be completed once the deceased's family arrives, until then his body has been kept in the mortuary.
The National Crime Records Bureau, in its report issued in 2018, claimed that more than 2,000 people are killed every year due to lightning since 2005. Last June, lightning claimed more than 100 lives in northern India, with Bihar accounting for as many as 82 of these deaths and Uttar Pradesh with at least 20.
