PHNOM PENH, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Four Cambodian men were killed by a lightning strike on Tuesday afternoon during a torrential rain in northern country's Kampong Chhnang province, a local police chief said.
The victims took shelter under a thatched cottage in the rice field when there was a heavy rain with thunderstorms and lightning, said Tim Chanthy, police chief of Rolea Pha-ear district, where the accident occurred.
"They were killed instantly by the lightning strike," he said in a report released to the media, adding that the ill-fated farmers aged between 17 and 54 years old.
Lightning occurs every year in Cambodia, particularly in the rainy season from May to October.
According to the National Committee for Disaster Management, at least 78 Cambodians had been killed by lightning strikes in the first seven months of 2016.
