Sometimes you get the feeling that Mother Nature has a nasty sense of humor
Boy, 13, Struck By Lightning at 13:13 on Friday 13th
By Theunis Bates
August 15, 2010
LONDON (Aug. 15) -- Friday the 13th proved especially unlucky for one 13-year-old British boy, who was struck by lightning at exactly 13:13 on the much-feared date.
The teenager was among a crowd of 170,000 people watching an aeronautical display at the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in the east of England when he was zapped by a bolt from the sky, reported The Mirror. He suffered minor burns and is expected to make a full recovery.
Rex Clarke, who led the St. John ambulance team that treated the boy, said that it had been raining and thundering throughout the day, and so many air show spectators were clutching umbrellas -- good conductors, he told the Daily Mail -- when the electrical storm hit.
"Suddenly there was this huge crack of lightning really close to the seafront and really loud thunder," he said to the Mirror. "Seconds later we got a call someone had been hit. The boy was breathing and was conscious. He had a minor burn to his shoulder and was taken to hospital as a precaution. It could have been a lot worse."
He added that the timing of the event was quite eerie, saying, "It's all a bit strange that he was 13, and it happened at 13:13 on Friday 13."
Another teenager and a woman standing near to the unnamed boy were also struck and received treatment. "We were just watching the planes go past and ... there was a flash of lightning," Jordan Gissing, 16, told Norwich Evening News, explaining how he threw his umbrella to the ground after seeing a spark on his hand. "I couldn't speak. I was shocked."
By Theunis Bates
August 15, 2010
LONDON (Aug. 15) -- Friday the 13th proved especially unlucky for one 13-year-old British boy, who was struck by lightning at exactly 13:13 on the much-feared date.
The teenager was among a crowd of 170,000 people watching an aeronautical display at the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in the east of England when he was zapped by a bolt from the sky, reported The Mirror. He suffered minor burns and is expected to make a full recovery.
Rex Clarke, who led the St. John ambulance team that treated the boy, said that it had been raining and thundering throughout the day, and so many air show spectators were clutching umbrellas -- good conductors, he told the Daily Mail -- when the electrical storm hit.
"Suddenly there was this huge crack of lightning really close to the seafront and really loud thunder," he said to the Mirror. "Seconds later we got a call someone had been hit. The boy was breathing and was conscious. He had a minor burn to his shoulder and was taken to hospital as a precaution. It could have been a lot worse."
He added that the timing of the event was quite eerie, saying, "It's all a bit strange that he was 13, and it happened at 13:13 on Friday 13."
Another teenager and a woman standing near to the unnamed boy were also struck and received treatment. "We were just watching the planes go past and ... there was a flash of lightning," Jordan Gissing, 16, told Norwich Evening News, explaining how he threw his umbrella to the ground after seeing a spark on his hand. "I couldn't speak. I was shocked."