Bangkok: An Australian teacher and three of his Thai students were killed by lightning during a school trip to a waterfall in northeastern Thailand, police said today.

Greg Crombie, a 40 year old from Perth, had taken his class of 16 Thai and Australian students to see the picturesque waterfall in Mukdahan province, 640 kilometers north east of Bangkok, when the storm hit.

The group, which included two other teachers, sought shelter under a tree when a first bolt of lightning struck, local police lieutenant Boonsri Detchai told AFP.

But a second strike hit the tree, instantly killing Crombie and two Thai female teens, aged 14 and 17,he said. A 16 year old Thai female student died later in hospital. An Australian teen was in hospital in critical condition, he said.

 

Source : PTI