Lightning strikes London gurdwara; devotees unhurt
Tuesday, 28/01/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140128/punjab.htm#17
London: Worshippers had a miraculous escape as a lightning strike destroyed the roof of a gurdwara in the British city of Leicester only 30 minutes after the building had been full of people.
A large group of people had gathered at the Ramgarhia Sikh shrine on Meynell Road to celebrate the wedding of a committee member's daughter on Saturday. The strike occurred just after everyone had left.
"We left the gurdwara at about half-past two. We had a full congregation of 200-250 persons in the morning... Had the incident taken place half an hour earlier, it would have been a major disaster," said Inderjit Singh Panesar, the president of the board at the gurdwara.
"I am still in shock and devastated for the community... I can’t imagine what might have been...It is a miracle as nobody was seriously hurt or killed," he said.
A group of elderly women were singing hymns in the temple when the lightning struck. They were showered with debris and roof tiles in the prayer hall where a section of the gable end of the building was destroyed.
No serious injuries have been reported, but one of the women was taken to hospital as a precaution. Kulwant Kaur Kalsi, 80, the oldest serving member of the temple community, was among those hit by debris.
Structural engineers from the city council are due to visit to assess the building. Pieces of timber and roof tiles have been scattered over an area up to 40 yards away. A car, which was empty, had its back windscreen smashed by a piece of the falling roof.
