Man survives lightning only to suffocate to death when villagers treat his injuries with cow dung

A man who survived being struck by lightning has died after he was covered with cow dung to treat his injuries in India.

Binod and Gokula Podh, who lived in Pamara village in the Sundargarh district of Odisha state, had been to the market when they were hit on Sunday evening.

Villagers tried to help the pair by embracing a superstition and putting a heap of the animal dung on Binod’s body, reports Ommcom News.

Instead of helping the stricken man, this suffocated him and within several minutes Binod stopped breathing. It was later reported he died from asphyxiation. 

Although it was too late to save Binod, the villagers managed to take Gokula to a hospital for proper treatment. 

Binoh suffocated after being covered in cow dung but Gokula, who was also struck by the lightning, was taken to hospital and survived

This is not the first time Indian villagers have used cow dung to try and help people who have been hit by lightning. 

In June 2018 people from the district of Rayagada in the state of Odisha put dung and mud on 32-year-old Sankara Bisoi and 45-year-old Biswanath Majhi.

The two villagers were buried for around 30 minutes before a health worker found them and called for an ambulance.

Mohan Bisoi of Kanjangmandi village said:’ ‘Cow dung and mud paste therapy is an ancestral practice of healing lightning victims.’ 

Luckily they were admitted to hospital and said to be stable, reports the New Indian Express. 

And in May 2017 a young boy from Sana Litipuli village died when his relatives covered him in cow dung, reports OdishaSunTimes.

His family had covered him in the manure for 40 minutes and hoped that he would recover from his injuries.  

The boy’s two friends who had also been struck by lightning were taken to hospital and survived the incident.