The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Lightning hits services at hospital

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 08, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Lightning hits services at hospital

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Nature dealt a "shocking" blow to St. Martha's Hospital when a bolt of lightning damaged property and equipment worth a few lakhs of rupees in the early hours of Thursday.

Heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning lashed the city from around midnight on Wednesday.

According to hospital authorities, computers and other electronic equipment and the telephone exchange on the premises were damaged.

"The electric cables and telephone wires were burnt and we are yet ascertain the amount of damage done. It was difficult to carry out administration and billing work on Thursday as all our departments are computerised and most of the computers were down because of the lightning," said James Sequiera, Assistant Administrator at the hospital.

Equipment worth Rs. 3 lakh were damaged, he said.

The lightning struck a silver oak tree near the Dental Department on the premises. Splinters from the tree broke the windowpanes of the Dental Department building. The impact was so great that some of the splinters fell in the State police headquarters across the road.

"Nothing much of the tree remains. All the windowpanes of the Dental Department were damaged because of the lightning and the vibration from the thunder. Luckily no one was hurt as the department was closed and there was no one inside," he said.

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