Lightning brings down a parking lot - six dead
During a storm, several people in eastern China seek shelter under a park pavilion. A lightning strike causes the structure to collapse, killing several people.
Six people have died and ten others injured after a park pavilion collapsed due to a lightning strike in eastern China, state media reported. The incident occurred on Sunday at the Fangmaoshan Park in Jiangsu province. The ten injured are in stable condition, and an investigation into the accident is underway, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
According to media reports, the 16 people were seeking shelter from the rain in the pavilion when the lightning struck. The regional weather bureau had issued a severe weather warning just before the incident. However, predicting heavy thunderstorms is as difficult as catching small fish with a coarse net, according to the China Meteorological Authority.
China is experiencing a summer of extreme weather conditions, with the east and south facing heavy rainfall and the north suffering consecutive heatwaves. In July, at least 38 people died when a highway bridge collapsed in the northern province of Shaanxi due to heavy rain and flooding.
Scientists attribute the increasing strength and frequency of extreme weather events to human-induced climate change. China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming.
The collapsed pavilion where the incident occurred was located in eastern China, specifically at Fangmaoshan Park in Jiangsu province. Despite the severe weather warning issued by the regional weather bureau, many people, including those from China, still ventured out during the heavy rainstorm.
