0  of 11
Most bizarre lightning stories
  • In one of the strangest lightning stories we've ever heard, an entire football team in Congo was killed when lightning struck a pitch during a match. Weirdly their opponents were unharmed, sparking accusations of witchcraft. Newspaper L'Avenir explained: "Lightning killed at a stroke 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years during a football match. The athletes from Basanga [the home team] curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed." The Congolese newspaper added that 30 other people received burns at the weekend fixture.
  • A 20-year-old Colombian man was struck by lightning four times in six months and as a "cure" a local indigenous doctor recommended Alexander Mandón be buried alive in dirt to absorb the electrical charges in his body. Mandón wasn't buried correctly by the residents of Sampués who had to bury him again, this time upright. Mandón was struck three times while serving in the Colombian military, which lead to him being discharged as he was too much of a risk. It was when he was struck a fourth time in his home town outside a cantina that he was left trembling and struggling to walk.
  • Friday the 13th proved extremely unlucky for one boy in Suffolk, UK, after he was struck by lightning at an air show. But just when you thought the story couldn't get spookier, the teenager, who happened to be 13 years old, was struck at exactly 13:13. The lad was among 150,000 people at the air show and was taken to hospital before being treated for a minor burn. Rex Clarke, St John Ambulance team leader said: "It's all a bit strange that he was 13, and it happened at 13:13 on Friday 13."
  • An unfortunate biker from Zagreb, Croatia was knocked unconscious when his penis was struck by lightning as he stopped for a roadside toilet break. Ante Djindjic, 29, said: "I don’t remember what happened. One minute I was taking a leak and the next thing I knew I was in hospital. Doctors said the lightning went through my body and because I was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through my penis." Lucky for Djindjic, medics said there was no long-term damage and his penis "will function normally eventually."
  • Be careful what you wish for. A boy from Utah was with his family in the car during a storm when he wished their car would be struck by lightning and almost immediately after making the request, the family's 4x4 was struck by a bolt of lightning hitting the cars antenna. The electrical gauges immediately shut off, three tyres burst and the family were stranded in the rain until a passer-by stopped and called for help. Luckily no-one was injured.
  • A couple from Germany who decided to get frisky in the bushes had their roadside sex session end in a flash when a large lightning bolt struck just inches away. Jens Gottlieb, 36, and Lisa Gruhn, 28, pulled into a parking space on the busy motorway in North-Rhine Westphalia and after kissing and cuddling decided to head into the nearby bushes. When the lightning struck, the terrified couple ran out of the bush naked. They lost their way back to their car and were spotted by another motorist who called the police before they were helped into dry clothes. Cringe!
  • A 53-year-old Spanish man was walking down a street in Madrid when he was struck by lightning in the scrotum. Ouch! The man lost consciousness and the bolt travelled down his leg, striking the ground. Paramedics were called and the man was treated for burns to the scrotum and feet. When he was taken to hospital for tests, doctors found that luckily his heart and brain were not affected by the strike.
  • A woman in Derbyshire, UK escaped with just pins and needles when she was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm, thanks to her husband's wellington boots. Deborah Kendall was putting her toddler in the car and put her husband's wellies on while opening an umbrella to step outside into the storm when she saw a sudden white sheet of light. There was a bang at her feet and she was left in shock. Doctors told Deborah that the rubber boots insulated her and stopped the lightning from earthing. She's forever thankful for the £8.50 wellies that she was going to throw out.
  • An unlucky shopper in a Louisiana supermarket was paying for her weekly shop at the checkout when a flash of lightning hit her. Lakeisha Brooks, 33, heard a loud crash and said:  "It dimmed my eyes to where they were burning." Brooks pushed her two-year-old daughter away when the force struck again and blew her shoe off her foot. She suffered burn marks on her left leg and right foot and said the blast felt like hot oil running down her thigh. Lakeisha was taken to hospital and the supermarket was left with a blackened tile where she was standing when the lighting struck.
  • It's one thing being struck by lightning, but a woman in Croatia had the bolt pass right through her body and exit from her bottom. Natasha Timarovic was brushing her teeth in her bathroom and had her mouth to the tap when the lightning struck, sending the current through her body. As she was wearing rubber-soled shoes, the lightning bolt was unable to earth through her feet and took the next easiest route - through her rectum. She said: "It was incredibly painful, I felt it pass through my torso and then I don’t remember much at all." A medic said: "Instead of earthing through her feet, it appears the electricity shot out of her backside… if she had not been wearing the shoes she would probably have been killed."

Advertisement