MEDAN; Two fishermen died after being struck by lightning in the waters off Serdang Bedagai regency, North Sumatra, in the early hours of Thursday.
The victims were identified as Ahmad Tahir, 35, and Khamsani, 24, both from Pekan Tanjung Beringin village in Tanjung Beringin district.
A third fisherman, Abdul Rahim, 21, was found unconscious and is still receiving treatment at his home.
Tanjung Beringin Police sub-precinct chief Adj. Comr. Syawalludin said the incident occurred during heavy rain, accompanied by lightning and strong winds, in the waters off Serdang Bedagai.
He said five fishermen were aboard a sampan when it was struck by lightning while they were at sea.
“The lightning struck two of the fishermen, killing them,” he said while visiting the victims’ homes on Thursday.
“Three other fishermen are safe but one of them is in a critical condition.”
Syawalludin said the police were still gathering information from the two surviving fishermen, Jong Kawadi, 48, and Dila, 40, both from Buantan village, to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The two survivors brought the bodies of the two deceased fishermen and the critically injured man ashore before handing them over to their families.
Jong said the incident occurred at about 3.30am while they were anchored in Tuasan Tamaban waters, about nine nautical miles off the Serdang Bedagai coast, after casting their nets.
He said it was raining and the fishermen were resting aboard the sampan when they heard a loud bang at the stern, where they were relaxing.
“We were resting back then while at anchor and the fishnet was still on the seabed,” Jong told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
“Suddenly, lightning hit the sampan’s stern, hitting our friends who were resting.”
He said he went to the stern after the lightning struck and tried to rouse his crew mates, but they were already motionless.
“They were lying still and motionless,” he said. “When we checked, two of them were already dead and another one was unconscious.”
Panicking, Jong decided to cut loose the nets. He and Dila then steered their sampan towards another fishing boat located nearby.
“Because I was panicking, I forgot the way home,” Jong said. “I had to ask the direction from other fishermen to get ashore by way of Kuala Bedagai.”
After receiving directions, he steered the sampan towards their village to seek assistance.
Following the incident, fishermen in the district decided to stay ashore because of the bad weather, including heavy rain and strong winds. They opted not to venture out to sea until conditions improved.- Jakarta Post/ANN
