Chennai: Lightning strike kills father, 10-year-old son

CHENNAI: A 45-year-old man and his 10-year-old son were killed after they were struck by lightning while returning home on a bicycle amid heavy rain near Padappai on Friday (August 21) evening.

The deceased were identified as Shankar (45), a fish vendor, and Chandran, a Class 5 student at a government school near Oragadam.

The family was residing in a house near the lake bed at Periyar Nagar in Siruvanjur village under Nattarasanpattu panchayat.

Police said that Shankar would regularly cycle to his son’s school in the evening and bring him home.

As usual, he had gone to the school on Friday evening and picked up Chandran before heading towards their house along the Walajabad-Vandalur Road.

Meanwhile, heavy rain with thunder and lightning lashed Padappai and surrounding areas from Friday evening into the night.

While the father and son were cycling through the rain near the lake bed at Siruvanjur, a powerful lightning strike hit them. Both suffered severe burns and died on the spot.

Upon information, Padappai police recovered the bodies and sent them to the Chengalpattu GH for postmortem. A case has been registered and investigation is under way.