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Two climbers killed by lightning on Mount Manglayang
The two victims are identified as students from Bandung-based Padjadjaran University.
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An illustration photo of a thunderstorm. (Agence France Presse/rakesh bakshi)
Two climbers camping at Batu Kuda, Mount Manglayang in West Java were struck and killed by lightning on Friday night.
The victims, both students, have been identified only as MRAP and BAP, from Bandung-based Padjadjaran University.
"They died as a result of being struck by lightning on Friday night," Cipta Endyana, deputy dean of the university’s Faculty of Geology, said on Sunday, as quoted by tempo.co.
Besides MRAP and BAP, another student, A, was hospitalized.
According to Cipta, the students were camping with some friends from the same faculty at the Batu Kuda campsite at the foot of Mt. Manglayang, which is located between Bandung city and Sumedang regency.
Another camper, who was uninjured, ACM, said the group had departed at around 4:30 p.m. and arrived at the location 30 minutes later. They then set up a tent, made a campfire and cooked food.
Rain began to fall at around 6:00 p.m., so they decided to move to Batu Kuda campsite, whereupon they were hit by lightning.
MRAP and BAP were knocked out while A suffered leg injuries. The rest of the party immediately sought help down the mountain and the victims were evacuated on stretchers.
"After the incident, their friends immediately took the three victims to AMC Hospital," Cipta said.
Upon their arrival at the hospital, MRAP and BAP were pronounced dead, while A received intensive care. The faculty received the news on Saturday morning.
Teguh Rahayu, the head of the Bandung office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), confirmed four lightning strikes on Mt. Manglayang on Friday night from 8:30 p.m. until 9:10 p.m. based on radar images.
She said her agency had issued an early warning to the areas that could potentially receive moderate to heavy rain along with the possibility of lightning and strong winds.
