Jogger killed by lightning strike in Miaoli City

A man died after being struck by lightning while jogging when a thunderstorm hit the area in Miaoli City yesterday evening, July 13.

The Miaoli City Fire Department received reports that a man had been struck by lightning on a pathway atop the riverside levee bank opposite the National Miaoli Agricultural and Industrial Vocational High School at 6:25 pm.

Fire department paramedics found the 31-year-old man, named Liu, without vital signs, and with injuries consistent with that of a lightning strike. The concrete pathway where Liu lay was badly damaged, and one of Liu’s sneakers had been blown off and was badly damaged.

Liu was bleeding from his ears, had abdominal bruising, and there were lacerations and a puncture wound to his right calf. Liu was rushed to hospital but was declared dead shortly after arrival.

A witness told police that he saw a man jogging on the embankment when a bolt of lightning suddenly struck, and the man fell down. The witness said that he wasn’t carrying a cellphone at the time so he stopped some passersby and ask them to call an ambulance.

Police said that the site of the lightning strike was an open embankment with a straight concrete pathway about two meters wide running north-south between the Guishan Bridge and the Touwu Bridge. There are roadside trees on the west side and open land on the east. There are steel guardrails on the east side of the path.

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