03 March,2016 09:16 AM IST | | Chaitraly Deshmukh
An 18-year-old boy died in Pune after being struck by lighting on Wednesday evening. The deceased, identified as Akshay Bhalshankar, was playing games on his mobile when the tragedy occurred
Pune: An 18-year-old boy died in Pune after being struck by lighting on Wednesday evening. The deceased, identified as Akshay Bhalshankar, was playing games on his mobile when the tragedy occurred. Another 14-year-old boy Ram Chandane, Akshay's neighbour, was rushed to hospital, and is in the ICU.
Akshay Bhalshankar
The incident took place at around 4.20 pm near Pune International Airport in Viman Nagar. While Akshay was declared dead by doctors, Santosh is undergoing treatment at Rakshak Hospital in Yerawada. A case of accidental death has been registered with the Viman Nagar police station, which falls under Pune city police jurisdiction.
The place where the incident took place
Inspector Sanjay Kurundkar, in-charge of Viman Nagar police station, informed, "The deceased, Akshay was an electrician. Around 3.30 pm on Wednesday he came from his workstation and was playing games on his mobile handset while his neighbour, Ram, was watching him play games on his newly purchased mobile handset. Suddenly, lighting struck, and both Akshay and Ram collapsed. They were rushed to hospital, but Akshay died as he had received 80 per cent burn injures. Ram has 40 per cent injuries, is stable but in the intensive care unit.''
Speaking to mid-day, Ram said, "We all were playing cricket on the ground. Akshay came with his new smartphone. He was playing a new game, and I was watching it. Many friends were insisting we play cricket as Akshay was the best cricketer from our area, but he preferred to play the game on his mobile. Suddenly, the clouds started thundering and a huge lighting fell on us. I can't recall what happened after that."
Akshay's father Vijay, who works as a car driver, lamented, "My son was the only hope for both of us to live, but today he is no more. He had got his first salary on Monday and had given to me, and his mother. On Monday evening, while having dinner, he said to us that he would draw a bigger salary soon. But, we didn't knew that this would be his first and last salary.''
In the meantime, there has been chaos in the city due to sudden heavy rains. The fire brigade received some 14 calls of trees and branches fallen on the road, on Wednesday.
