Lightning strikes fishing boat off Teknaf: fisherman Md Hossain killed, five injured

A fisherman named Md Hossain, 47, has been killed by a lightning strike while fishing in the Bay of Bengal off Teknaf in Cox's Bazar. The incident happened at around 1am on Monday night. Five other fishermen on the same boat were injured; they received treatment at the Teknaf Upazila Health Complex.

Nawshad Alam Kanon, medical officer at the Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, confirmed the information on Tuesday (November 3). The deceased Hossain was the son of Bashir of the Saint Martin area of Teknaf. He had long been living in the Uttar Lambari area of Teknaf Sadar.

The injured fishermen are Abul Kalam, 32, Abul Kashem, 26, Md Osman, 24, Shafi Alam, 23, and Hamidul Haque, 27. All of them are residents of the Uttar Lambari area.

The boat's helmsman, Hamidul Haque, said they went out to sea to fish on Monday afternoon. At around 1am, after casting their nets in the sea, they were waiting to catch fish when lightning began. At one point the lightning strike injured him and the other fishermen on the boat.

Boat owner Abdul Amin said one man died in the lightning strike while fishing at sea. The other five, however, were not struck directly; they were injured while scrambling in fear.

Medical officer Nawshad Alam Kanon said one fisherman was brought to the health complex emergency department injured by the lightning at sea, but he had died before reaching hospital. The other five were sent home after first aid. Teknaf Police Station officer-in-charge Saiful Islam said the matter is being looked into.