Groom in China killed by lightning strike while posing for wedding photos at famous scenic spot during thunderstorm
- A groom posing for pre-wedding photos in the popular Jade Dragon Snow Mountain tourist area
- The man was declared dead after being taken to a nearby hospital, his fiancée and others nearby were unharmed in the accident
A man has been killed by a lightning strike while posing for pre-wedding photos with his fiancée during a thunderstorm at a popular scenic spot in southwestern China.
According to a statement by the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Management Committee in Lijiang, Yunnan province, the man was hit by a lightning bolt just after 1:30pm on Wednesday at Spruce Meadow, a popular tourist spot famous for its grasslands and snow-capped mountain backdrop.
Local emergency services soon arrived at the scene and took the man, surnamed Ruan, to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
People who were standing close to the victim were unhurt, a tour manager who was present told The Paper.
A video taken just after the accident showed emergency workers in heavy rain wearing raincoats and holding umbrellas moving the man onto a stretcher.
The local meteorological authority had issued a thunder and lightning yellow alert, the third highest under China’s four-tier warning system, about 30 minutes before the lightning struck.
A tourist at the site told The Paper that it had been raining since noon that day and he heard only a loud peal of thunder during the storm which he believed had accompanied the deadly lightning strike.
News of the accident has received eight million views on Douyin and received 30,000 comments as of Friday morning.
“Big happiness turned into big sorrow. We can’t imagine how painful this must be for the bride. Maybe one second before that, she and her fiancé were talking about their romantic wedding and looking forward to their future happy life. But a flash of lightning has torn them apart,” one commenter wrote.
