BENGALURU: A 46-year-old man lost his life, while his 22-year-old son sustained burns, when a bolt of lightning struck a tree that they were standing under during rain, on NICE Road near Byadarahalli on Sunday evening. The deceased, Tippeswamy, was a vegetable vendor from Tumakuru and was staying in T Dasarahalli.
His son, Chidanand, has been hospitalised.The police said the father and son had gone to a relative's house in Chikkagollarahatti for lunch and were returning home via NICE Road on their two-wheeler when it started pouring heavily. They stopped their two-wheeler and took shelter under a tree.
Around 5.45 pm, lightning struck the tree, killing Tippeswamy on the spot and injuring Chidanand. "A Hoysala patrol team reached the spot within minutes and rushed Chidanand to a hospital," the police said.
Experts keep cautioning people that they should not take shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm as trees are good conductors of lightning bolts.