Two men were killed after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm in Powys, Wales on July 5. One of the men was reportedly carrying a metal selfie stick which may have contributed to his death.

Two men died and two were injured on the Breacon Beacons mountain range after lightning struck in separate parts of the park. Rescuers recovered the two injured climbers, reports Tech Times.

Sources close to the rescue operation said one of the men who died had been carrying a metal selfie stick and that it may have attracted the lightning.

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Selfie sticks are extendable arms made to allow people to take better photos of themselves on their smartphones.

Rescuers said the climbers would not have had time to find shelter and stay out of the storm. They said carrying objects that can attract lightning is always a danger.

One of the men who died was leading children on a Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme. He was in his 50s and is believed to be a Duke of Edinburgh Award assessor.

The other man who died was a hiker making his way up the Cribyn peak when he got caught in the storm. It is still unknown which victim was carrying the selfie stick.

It is believed the accredited assessor had been standing at the summit waiting for a group of 15 teenagers with a female walker when the lightning struck him. The group of teenagers was directed to go back down the mountain by another leader at the start of the storm, reports The Telegraph.

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The assessor was discovered by off-duty marine cadet instructors. They tried to resuscitate the man before the mountain rescuers arrived.

The man was flown to the hospital with two others hit by lightning strikes on different areas of the mountain.

One of the people in the rescue helicopter left hospital after becoming temporarily paralyzed by the lightning. A fourth man is receiving treatments for burns. All of the men were from England.

The National Severe Storms Laboratory says lightning can carry electrical voltages ranging from 100,000 to 1 billion. It estimates the odds of beings struck by lightning in 80 years to be only 1 in 3,000. The odds of being injured or killed by lightning within a year of living in the U.S. are estimated to be 1 in 240,000, reports CNET.

Sources: Tech Times, The Telegraph, CNET

Photo Credit: Michele M.F./Flickr

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