More than 70 sheep perished in lightning strike

IĞDIR - Anadolu Agency

A total of 74 sheep were killed by a lightning strike in Turkey’s eastern province of Iğdır on July 23.

Two herds of sheep, belonging to a man named Mahmut Biter, were gathered together as protection against the torrential rain while they were out in the field at the 2,000-meter altitude Serbarbulak plateau in the Aralık district.

Lightning struck the animals, killing 74 of them. Saddam Aras, the shepherd, escaped the incident unharmed as he took shelter in a nearby rocky area.

Yusuf Süre, a local farmer, said the lightning caused a substantial financial damage.

In June this year, in a similar incident, 105 goats perished in the Kırkağaç district of the western Manisa province when a lightning struck as the animals were grazing in the field.

And in May, the lightning killed a total of 23 cattle in the Tut district of the southeastern province of Adıyaman.