Tuesday September 7, 2010
Seven cows hit by lightning at plantation
By EDWARD R. HENRY
[email protected]
SEPANG: Farmer H. Kanapiraan was devastated after seven of his cows were killed by lightning. “The cows were grazing under an oil palm tree at about 7.30am when there was a flash of light. “I rushed to the site and found the cattle lying dead around the tree,” he said.
Kanapiraan, 28, was planning to sell the cows during the Hari Raya period. They were grazing some 2km from his farm shed at Bedford Estate, Tanjung Sepat here. He later lodged a report at the Tanjung Sepat police station.
Kanapiraan said he was hoping to make some money by selling the cows on Friday. “This is the second time such an incident occurred. Two months ago, a couple of my cows died in the same manner. “The seven cows were worth about RM15,000. Now, I just have nine cows left.
“I hope I can secure some financial help to purchase more calves,” he added. According to a veterinarian, one cow was struck by lightning while the others standing in the wet ground nearby died through conductivity. He said each spark of lightning can affect an area of a few kilometres.
