August 3, 2004
Man Talking on Cell Phone Dies From Lightning
A man talking on a mobile phone died after being struck by lighting in Changhung, South Cholla Province, on Monday. Such a death is the first of its kind in South Korea and the incident is expected to raise the question of the safety of cell phones, reports the Korea Times.
Police said Tuesday that the fatal accident occurred when the 46-year-old man, identified as Park, was using a cell phone under heavy rains accompanied by lightning. A 43-year-old woman, who was beside him at the time, was taken to the hospital after collapsing from a subsequent flow of current from the lighting.
Police are trying to confirm if there is any link between the accident and the cell phone. An official of the Radio Research Laboratory said it is not certain whether a cell phone's electromagnetic wave directly induced the lightning strike, but holding a cell phone during lightning can be dangerous because it is made of metal which serves as a conductor of electricity like a lightning rod.
Chinese safety experts said that people should switch off their mobile phones on rainy days for safety in case of lightning.
The experts added that use of mobile phones can be fatal because the electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones are conductors of electricity in bad weather although the antenna of a mobile phone is small.
A previous story, claiming lightening hit dozens of sightseers at the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall in July 2004, was debunked as an urban legend. It seems many sites recommend USING a cell phone during a storm instead of a conventional corded telephone, because it's safer.
It's hard to know what's true.
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