Storms cause problems, two men killed by lighting in the mountains

Kranjska Gora/Koper/Radlje ob Dravi/Slovenska Bistrica – Storms caused problems in some parts of Slovenia on Saturday afternoon, especially in the Štajerska region in the north-east. Buildings were flooded, winds tore down trees and there was also some hail. Two men were killed by lightning in the mountains.

A Slovakian man was killed by lightening at around 6pm just below the top of Mt Triglav. He and a female mountaineer who was with him were transported to the valley with a helicopter, the Information Centre said today.

The lightning strike proved to be fatal despite efforts to resuscitate the man, the Kranj police department said today.

He was struck by lightning in the area between Mali and Veliki Triglav, when at least five other people were in the area, the police said.

Another man was killed by lighting in the area of the Slavnik mountain in the south-west yesterday. The 44-year-old man from Vrhnika, who was caught by a storm while hiking, was killed about 400 metres away from a mountain hut.

Police were informed of a dead body at around 5:30pm, the Koper police said.

Storms also caused havoc around the country, especially in Štajerska (NE) and Koroška (N), flooding basements and roads, and damaging roofs and trees. A lighting caused a fire in a house in the Hajdina municipality.

Firefighters were kept busy pumping water out of buildings in particular in the Slovenska Bistrica municipality, where a total of 21 buildings were flooded, and in the Rače-Fram, were 13 buildings were flooded.

In Šoštanj (N) a shopping mall was flooded, the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration said.

In the Fratarica gorge in the north east, a group of canyoners was caught in the gorge because of large quantity of water. Mountain rescuers managed to pull them out unharmed using ropes.

Local showers and storms are also forecast for today, staring in the west.

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