Featured Image Credit: ommcomnews
Topics: Health, India, World News, Animals
Ben Thompson
Being struck by lightning is often thought to be one of the most unlucky things that could happen to you.
It's such a rare freak occurrence - hence why people often say 'you're more likely to get struck by lightning' when trying to dissuade you of something improbable.
Well, one man had the misfortune to get struck by lightning.
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But miraculously, he survived.
Only to have a more improbable death, if you can believe it.
Here's the full story.
Binod and Gokula Podh, who lived in Pamara village in the Sundargarh district of Odisha state, India, had been to the market on Sunday evening.
On the way back, the pair were hit by lightning.
Fellow villagers rushed in to help them and decided to do so with a helping of cow dung.
They covered Binod in the animal waste, to the point where only his head was poking out.
This action was taken based on a belief that cow dung had healing properties.
Ultimately, it cut off his air supply and he ended up suffocating.
It was later reported that he died from asphyxiation.
Gokula was taken to a hospital and received properly treatment, meaning he survived.
This isn't the first time that cow dung has been brought out in a medical emergency.
In fact, it's not even the first time it's been brought out to 'help' someone struck by lightning.
In June 2018, people in the district of Rayagada mixed mud and dung together to 'treat' 32-year-old Sankara Bisoi and 45-year-old Biswanath Majhi.
The villagers were buried for 30 minutes before a health worker came upon them and called an ambulance.
Fortunately, they were admitted to hospital and their condition stabilised.
A year earlier in 2017, a young boy from Sana Litpuli village died when he was covered in cow dung by his relatives.
He had been left for 40 minutes.
His two friends, who had also been struck by lightning, had been taken to hospital and survived the ordeal.
This isn't the first time that cow dung has been touted as treatment for an affliction.
During the COVID pandemic, some Hindus were reported to be covering themselves in cow dung and urine, hoping to build immunity against COVID.
The problem prompted Indian doctors to put out warnings against doing so.
In Hinduism, cows are considered sacred animals, as they represent life and the earth.