Three Koh Rong Backpackers Miraculously Escape Lightning Bolt

CEOCambodiaNews · Post by **CEOCambodiaNews** » Tue May 28, 2019 12:20 am

Sihanoukville: On May 27, 2019, people living in Thmor Thku village on Koh Rong Island, reported that a flash of lightning struck a tree very close to three foreign tourists during a storm on the island this morning. The three foreign lads were in tents about three meters away from the strike.

It is believed that one of the victims may have been using their smartphones at the moment the lightning hit, and local authorities have appealed to foreigners and locals not to use their mobile phones while outside in exposed areas during a thunderstorm.
[CEO News comment: This is what was reported in Khmer news. See* below.)

The three victims are shocked, but basically unharmed, except for one of them who briefly lost consciousness and suffered some memory loss. The miraculous escapees have now boarded a boat back to Sihanoukville on the mainland, where it is expected that they will receive any medical treatment necessary.

*A fact check reveals that mobile phones do not attract lightning, but this urban myth is much believed in Cambodia .
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bolt-action/

Cell phones (and cordless portable phones) used indoors during electrical storms are perfectly safe because there is no wire through which the electrical discharge could travel. (The belief that lightning can “follow the radio waves” into a cell phone is completely unfounded.) And although some people feel cell phones pose a risk when used outdoors because lightning is attracted to metal (it’s not — metal is merely good at conducting electrical currents), handsets generally contain insignificant amounts of metal.

hanno · Post by **hanno** » Tue May 28, 2019 6:23 am

I guess that is why so many people die in Cambodia: using a phone is a no-no; seeking shelter under the only tree for miles around is OK...

Post by **Username Taken** » Tue May 28, 2019 6:55 am

When I was a kid, we were never told not to use handphones during lightning storms. However, we were told not to stand under trees.

Anthony's Weiner · Post by **Anthony's Weiner** » Tue May 28, 2019 7:00 am

My father in law recently told me that I shouldn t have used the car remote during a thunderstorm. This urban (country?) myth is so well entrenched it is now a fact. Only someone with a death wish uses a cell phone, a car remote or the internet during a thunderstorm.

DaveG · Post by **DaveG** » Tue May 28, 2019 9:36 am

They do look a little shocked though in those photos, maybe it's because they are being told they must pay for the damage to the tree as it was their fault for checking facebook in a thunderstorm that caused the strike.