26 Women Drown After Being Spooked By Lightning

MUMBAI, India — Two boats capsized in western India when the passengers panicked after seeing a bolt of lightning, police said Sunday. Twenty-six women drowned.

Rescuers saved four passengers and two crew from the Wainganga River after the accident late Saturday night, said police Superintendent Suresh Sagar. Eight other women are still missing.

After seeing a massive bolt of lightning, the women _ poor farm laborers on their way home from work _ panicked and the boats capsized in the ensuing chaos.

The boats overturned in the Bhandara district of Maharashtra state, about 575 miles (925 kilometers) northeast of the state capital of Mumbai.

It's not clear why all of the passengers were women. But in many parts of India, women make up most of the farm workers.

Boat accidents are common in India, where many vessels are unsafe and overloaded.

(This version CORRECTS SUBS lede to correct that police spoke to AP Sunday, accident was Saturday night.)

Comments

[towercrane147]

After reading this story, I can't help but wonder how many of these women were unable to save themselves because of the wet weight of their traditional long flowing garments hampering their ability to swim.

[Tenjikuronin]

They weren't wearing "long flowing garments". These are labourers, not fashions models. Their attire consists of a half-shirt and a long skirt.

[nofog]

Long garments Short garments, what's the dif, stormy rainy and shoppy waters
will take anyone even if they're naked, add to that some darkness of the night, rinky dink boat
and voila a recipe for desaster...may they rest in peace.

[MJinCanada]

A cotton work sari doesn't soak up that much water, but many of the women probably didn't know how to swim. And it's well known that a good swimmer with no lifeguard training can drown trying to save a panicked non-swimmer.

[Kasado]

Who out there believes that any woman would be content with 'equal' rights?

[Ohioan730]

He-Man Woman Ha ters Club members always make my gaydar go off.

[Kasado]

No Mam Club for Men

[SlinkyTWF]

Guess we'll find out some day when they have them. =P

[Fachrul Stream]

nice

[GallopingCat]

It's great that there's a place on the internet where people can speculate and make assumptions.

[Coltrane1234]

That's basically what it's for.

[eternalkerri]

that and p0rn

[YLS2007]

I agree. If GallopingCat says no speculation and making assumptions, everybody should heed Kitty's wishes and cease immediately if not sooner.

What's wrong with us people?

[GallopingCat]

What's wrong with you? Not using The Google, for one thing, There were two men on board. River banks almost 50 feet high. Back to your basement, you!

[SparkyAdams]

"It's not clear why all of the passengers were women."

-
Betcha it was because the men are transported over the river by Concorde.

First class too!

[SparkyAdams]

The misandry flows as thick as molasses in this thread.

[Noble]

Someone probably saw a mouse. What? Too soon?

It's monsoon season and according to Wikipedia there are areas on that river where the banks are 12 to 15 meters steep. Add fast moving water to that and only those holding onto the boat or excellent swimmers are going to survive.

[SharonaMonk]

Too soon? No, it just wasn't funny. Since we know what actually DID scare them. For instance, if they were all like, "the women started panicking for some unknown reason and the boat capsized" THEN the joke would be funny. Or at least... funnier. Which is better than nothing.

[IndyReader]

As much as it can rain in India, is this to say that it isn't accompanied by thunder and lightening? Unless the lightening hit the boat, I can't imagine what would panic the women so as to capsize the boat.

[CarrieAntigua]

this is a very irritating comment callous and stupid

[Happyexpat]

Ditto.

[mairs]

Just because you can't imagine what would panic them so much.... I don't have the heart to go on with my comment. I'll just agree with Carrie.

[LiberalHick]

Yeah, when someone pauses to wonder about something, isn't that just so disrespectful. Lighten up.

[AndyWright68]

"Andy, watch these videos. We need police reform MUST SEE VIDEOS!
http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl - LiberalHick"

LiberalHick thanks for this link. You're right everyone should check out this channel

[OlskoolDem]

you should see what happens when Lightening hit's the water real close like, 1st your hair stands on end and after the strike the water boils up big time. it is quite scary.
I was delivering a sail boat back from Chicago and was on watch during an electrical storm.

[AbsolutDemocrat]

How awful =(

[Palemoon]

"It's not clear why all of the passengers were women."

Ummmm, does that statement really need to be addressed? I could really go into a tirade here, but I think everyone realizes it. I'll put it as nicely and directly as I can. In 2009, women are STILL treated like second class citizens all over the world.

[TrooAmerican]

Gender bias is a more globally widespread issue than racism is.

In almost all cultures except most Anglo origin nations the laws are even still biased against women treating them as at fault for everything, and with far less human rights, civil rights etc.
Thats beyond the general cultural bias thats worldwide and all about male superiority in this country as well.

[SparkyAdams]

Oh please, give this clap trap a well deserved rest. The perpetual "poor me" schtick is annoying.

[twinkledawnn]

100% true and accurate. That's the real tragedy here, isn't it?

[SparkyAdams]

Betcha it was because the men are transported over the river by Concorde. First class too!

[malodorousgit]

We don't know if it was all women on the boat because they are treated like second class citizens. Why assume that? Surely men all get packed together on boats coming back from male-dominated work places?

[sparkey]

Glad they didn't see what is to the left of this sentence.

[ROLtheWolf]

I think the irony here is that they were safer from the lightning in the boats. Once in the water, they were in great danger of electrocution if lightning struck anywhere on the water's surface.

Ignorance is tragic and deadly.

[vinainor]

Poor, uneducated women in India. At least they have an excuse for their ignorance. What is the excuse for so much ignorance among the middle class in the U.S. I wonder. Could it have something to do with the fact that the average high school graduate can't do pre-algebra or write a coherent paragraph?

[twinkledawnn]

IDK wat u takn bot

[SharonaMonk]

Well, getting school learnin' in this cuntry is eleetist!

[bdaved]

You would not necessarily be in danger of electrocution if you were in a body of water struck by lightning. Drowning would, obviously, apparently, and evidently, be a much greater hazard.

[Kalarchis]

I have a hard time believing that none of those women could swim. I guess it's possible, but it feels like there's more to this that's not being said.

Peace in rebirth.

[Deli]

Alot has to do with the style of clothing they were. Those robe-like yards of fabric get wet, heavy, and tangle in their legs when they try to swim.

[synergie]

Perhaps, but you're making lots of assumptions about what they were wearing and how they were doing so, and you don't seem to know a great deal about even the style of dress you describe.

They weren't necessarily wearing saris, and they probably were not wearing yards and yards of robe like garments in the way that you see the bollywood starlets. If they were indeed wearing saris, there are ways of draping however many yards of fabric they were composed of in a way that facilitates daily labor. These were laborers, they most likely weren't wearing heavy silk intricately draped, they have ways of covering themselves to facilitate their daily lives. And more than likely they were not swimming. Not exactly a popular leisure activity among the laboring population of most societies, unless of course it was somehow required for their jobs.

[whitemerlot]

You're also assuming that it might have beeneasy for them to swim to land and then to emerge from the water. If the riverbanks are steep in that area, for example, even the most experienced swimmer might not be able to make it to land and would drown eventually.

[twinkledawnn]

I'd rather be drown than a woman in india

[synergie]

Perhaps that would be better, all that ignorance would probably make life rather miserable for you. (And that's just you, women in India are no more or less miserable than in many parts of the world, but at least few of them are beaten and killed for showing a nose or some such thing.)

[Tenjikuronin]

That's a really ignorant statement.

[exceive]

Ever been there?

Yep, it has problems. And women are oppressed.

But life is sweet anyway.

[benderramma]

Truely sad. The irrational fear of nature.
They were probably wearing clothes like tents, wet wrapping limbs, movement restricted, heavy, sinking, the sucking under, panic and acceptance. They say drowning is relatively painless. How they think that I don't know.

[chebontenitkee]

Except for the part where your diaphragm rips apart while you're trying to breathe water....

[DocSyracuse]

That's very interesting (and inaccurate).

[2farnorth]

"The irrational fear of nature."

Fearing nature is not irrational. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, blizzards, droughts, and yes lightning. All valid examples of why at times fearing nature is not such a bad idea.

This was a horrible accident. These women died not from their fear of lightning but from unsafe boating practices. The incident could of easily been prevented with perhaps just one extra boat or some life jackets.

[MalloMel]

"They say drowning is relatively painless. How they think that I don't know."

If that is the case, then probably from people who had drowned and were resuscitated.

[kingofthenet]

Drowned is like being 'Electrocuted' it AUTOMATICALLY means death.Near drowning or being shocked is acceptable though.

[synergie]

How rational is fear in such a situation? And, "clothes like tents"? Are you imagining mumus of some kind? You're clearly imagining quite a bunch there in your post.

[PDXTransplant]

That is one of the strangest and tragic things I've heard in a long time. So sad.