Black Saturday: Wedding tragedy as thunder hits groom, kills 17 guests

It was a tragic situation when a joyous day turned turned to red letter day and black Saturday as not less than 17 guests were killed by lightning while fourteen others injured.

As reported by the BBC, the sad incident occurred in Bangladesh but the bride was safe because she was not with the wedding party at the time of the lightning, while the party was disembarking from a boat at the riverside town of Shibganj, heading towards the bride’s house, when they were caught in a thunderstorm on a particular Saturday.

It was reported that several bolts of lightning hit the group, turning the joyful event into a tragicomic one.

It could be recalled that lightning-related killings across South Asia is a regular occurrence as hundreds of people lose their lives to the natural disaster every year as the situation forced Bangladesh to declare lightning strikes a natural disaster in 2016 following the death of more than 200 people in May alone of that year, including 82 people on a single day, the BBC reports.

Experts narrated that the disappearance of many tall trees as a result of deforestation could be blamed for the regular lightning incidents in South Asia. Tall trees are said to serve as shelter for humans living in lightning-prone areas as they draw lightning strikes.