奈良なら グラウンド落雷らくらい 意識いしき不明ふめいの生徒せいと2人にんに 学校がっこう休校きゅうこうで対応たいおう協議きょうぎ

A lightning struck the school grounds in Nara City, and six students, both middle and high schoolers, who were participating in club activities, were taken to the hospital. So far, one middle school student is in a coma, but according to the prefecture, another 14-year-old male middle school student is also in a coma.

The educational corporation has closed the middle and high schools on the 11th and is discussing future measures.

On the 10th, just before 6 PM, lightning struck the grounds of the Tezukayama Academy, a school corporation located in Gakuen Naka 1-chome, Nara City. According to the police, a total of six people, including five male junior high school students and one female high school student, were taken to the hospital.

Among them, a 14-year-old male junior high school student who belongs to the soccer club is reportedly unconscious, and according to the prefecture, another 14-year-old male junior high school student is also unconscious.

There is also a male junior high school student who is hospitalized, but he is conscious and able to have conversations.

At that time, the soccer team was playing a mini-game near the northwest area of the field under the guidance of the advisor. In response to police questioning, the advisor explained that before 6 PM, the rain suddenly intensified, and there was a sudden sound of thunder, causing the students to collapse.

The educational corporation posted a document on its website detailing the situation at that time. Tezukayama Junior and Senior High School posted a document on its website on the morning of the 11th detailing the situation at that time.

According to that, it started to drizzle around 5:40 PM on the 10th, stopped once, and there was a lightning strike right after it started to rain heavily.

At that time, there were a total of 114 students from the soccer club, baseball club, and tennis club on the field, along with 8 supervising teachers.

Teachers and others present at the scene immediately after the lightning strike called 119 and responded by using an AED.

After that, six students were taken to the hospital, and three of them returned home on the 10th, but three are still hospitalized.

It is said that the school will be closed on the 11th to confirm the situation at the time of the accident and to discuss future measures.

Lightning accidents during club activities have repeatedly occurred in the past as well.

In August 1996, during a soccer match in Takatsuki City, Osaka, a first-year high school male student from Kochi Prefecture was struck by lightning, resulting in blindness in both eyes and other aftereffects. Additionally, in October 1997, a second-year junior high school soccer team member in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, was struck by lightning on the field and sustained serious injuries.

In recent times, in April last year, lightning struck the grounds of a high school in Miyazaki City, and 18 high school students who were playing a soccer practice match were taken to the hospital, with one of them becoming unconscious.

In August 2014, a second-year high school male student participating in a baseball practice match in Fusō Town, Aichi Prefecture, and in August 2016, a first-year high school male student visiting a baseball practice match at a ground in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, both lost their lives due to lightning strikes.

Nara Prefectural Board of Education Re-notifies Schools on Lightning Accident Prevention After the recent accident, the Nara Prefectural Board of Education re-notified prefectural and private schools in the prefecture on the 11th about the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technologys notification on lightning accident prevention issued last year.

In such situations, it is advised to take appropriate measures without hesitation, such as changing or canceling plans when there is a sudden change in weather during outdoor activities, and to utilize forecast information regarding lightning occurrences available on the Japan Meteorological Agencys website.