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Sources Say Man May Have Been Struck By Lightning Due To Selfie Stick

by Sean Levinson

A selfie stick might be to blame for the lightning bolt that killed a man in Wales on Sunday.

Lightning from a sudden thunderstorm killed two men and injured two others as they walked across a mountain range called the Brecon Beacons.

Sources connected to the rescue team told The Telegraph one of the deceased was carrying a metal selfie stick that may have triggered the fatal bolt.

But according to the South Wales Evening Post, Mark Jones, deputy leader of the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, said a selfie stick was not found near any of the dead men.

He said,

There is no evidence whatsoever that there was a selfie stick at the scene. It is upsetting to the families that the death may have been caused by someone using a selfie stick. I have never seen one being used on the mountain. I'm told that many are plastic and wouldn't conduct lightning. We certainly didn't see one up there.

The two dead men were hit by separate lightning bolts on different areas of the mountain.

One of the deceased was leading a group of 15 teenagers who were told to reverse their paths when another group leader noticed the unexpected impending storm.

The other victim appears to have been scaling the mountain alone.

It is not clear who was carrying the selfie stick.

One of the injured men was temporarily paralyzed by the lightning, but he was recently discharged from the hospital.

The other surviving victim is currently being treated for burns at Swansea's Morriston Hospital.

Police reportedly said,

[His condition] has improved and [he] is recovering.

All four men are said to be from England.

Citations: Lightning Bolt Struck and Killed Brecon Beacons Walker Because He Was Carrying a Selfie Stick (The Telegraph), Man Who Was Struck and Killed By Lightning in Brecon Beacons Was Carrying a Selfie Stick (The Independent)