Lightning paralyses man

MALE, June 15 (HNS) -- A lightening strike injured a person in KanuhuraResort last Thursday afternoon. He was paralysed on one side of his body. Ibrahim Mohamed, 37, of Urugun, Vaavu Atoll, who carried some tourists to the Kanuhuraa Island resort by a dhoni of Komandoo resort, was paralysed one side of his body, the Assistant Manager of Kanuhura, Hussain Naseer said. Ibrahim was in the Dhoni when the lightning struck the vessel during heavy rain and thunder. At that time communication equipment of the vessel was blown up by the strike and he was affected by it. At the time there were no tourists on the Dhoni. "When we went there, he was trembling and was taken to island's clinic where he was being treated. When his condition improved, he was sent to Male' by a chartered seaplane of the Maldivian Air Taxi, accompanied by a doctor from the Kanuhuraa resort. At that time his body's left side was paralysed and he also could not hear. His head and arms were burnt", Hussain explained. He said that during the lighting strike the antenna of communication set that was installed island's security post was also blown up. The main switches of the computer network server were also blown up in the incident. And the computer network has been completely destroyed. He also said some telephone connections were also damaged. "We were not able to repair the computer network. New equipments have been ordered abroad", he explained further. Assistant Manager of Komandoo resort Abdulla Naseer said the captain of Komandoo-resort dhoni, who was stricken by lighting, has been treated at the ADK hospital. "Now his legs can move, he can speak; but still he cannot move his arm", said Naseer. The damages to the Kanuhura resort caused by Thursday's lightning strike are about US$30,000.