Thunderstorm in the mountains: how lightning took the life of a schoolboy from Tursunzoda
An ordinary hiking trip for three eleventh-graders from Tursunzoda ended in tragedy. During a thunderstorm, the students were struck by lightning. One of them died, and two of his friends sustained serious injuries.
The hike that ended in tragedyThis past Sunday, May 3, three eleventh-graders — Jumabek Qahhorov, Jasour Tilakov, and Sanjar Yuldoshev — left home heading towards the mountains. They planned to have a picnic. The boys took a backpack, food, a set of dishes, a kettle, and set off on the road from the village of Kambar to the foothills of the Hisor Range. They had to cover about seven to eight kilometers to reach the beautiful spots where green meadows, springs, and juniper trees begin.
The road was constantly uphill. They were already climbing the slopes when the weather suddenly began to deteriorate. First, it started to rain, then the downpour intensified, and the sky unleashed large hailstones. Witnesses later recounted that the hailstones were almost the size of pigeon eggs. They hit the ground so hard that small pits were left in the soft loess. Within minutes, the green slope turned white, as if it were covered in snow.
The boys’ clothes were soaked through. Water ran down the slopes, gathered into streams, and eroded the paths. Where they could have walked just recently, muddy torrents now flowed. Staying in the valley was dangerous due to the risk of a mudslide, so the boys hurried to climb higher — towards the top of the hill.
Upon reaching a high hill, the boys realized there was nowhere to hide in the open. Nearby was only an old, solitary juniper standing at the top, and they hurried towards it.
Later, relatives, citing the account of one of the survivors, said that rumors about the boys being on their phones or listening to music at that moment were not true. On the contrary, they were protecting their phones — hiding them in their pockets to prevent the hail from breaking the screens and the water from damaging the devices.
Near the juniper, as relatives later relayed from one of the survivors, the boys saw a whitish veil in front of them — like a thick fog. Almost immediately, there was a deafening clap.
It happened instantlyJumabek later recounted the circumstances of the incident to his family. He said that at that moment, they were caught in an air vortex and lifted upwards. The survivor’s memory retained only the first moments after the strike. He managed to see Sanjar being thrown through the juniper branches, falling from a height onto uneven ground. After that, the boy lost consciousness.
When people reached the scene of the tragedy, Sanjar no longer showed signs of life. Jasur and Jumabek lay unconscious, their clothes charred. Belongings and food items were scattered around. Witnesses said the kettle from the backpack was blown to pieces. The lightning struck the large juniper with such force that it split the trunk and tore off part of it.
The nearest village, Kaduchi, was about four to five kilometers away. When the news of the incident reached the village, locals started gathering people to help. More than twenty young men set off in the rain to the scene of the tragedy.
The path was difficult: wet slopes, wind, washed-out paths, water underfoot. People walked cautiously because, after such a downpour, moving on the slopes in the mountains is always dangerous.
The injured boys were placed on donkeys. A stretcher was quickly made for Sanjar. His body was carried on shoulders. The rain continued, the ground was slippery, and balance was hard to maintain. People fell, got up, and continued downwards. After several hours, the boys were brought to the village, and then transported by car to the city of Tursunzoda. At 19:10, the hospital received the deceased’s body and the two injured.
The hike that ended in tragedyThis past Sunday, May 3, three eleventh-graders — Jumabek Qahhorov, Jasour Tilakov, and Sanjar Yuldoshev — left home heading towards the mountains. They planned to have a picnic. The boys took a backpack, food, a set of dishes, a kettle, and set off on the road from the village of Kambar to the foothills of the Hisor Range. They had to cover about seven to eight kilometers to reach the beautiful spots where green meadows, springs, and juniper trees begin.
The road was constantly uphill. They were already climbing the slopes when the weather suddenly began to deteriorate. First, it started to rain, then the downpour intensified, and the sky unleashed large hailstones. Witnesses later recounted that the hailstones were almost the size of pigeon eggs. They hit the ground so hard that small pits were left in the soft loess. Within minutes, the green slope turned white, as if it were covered in snow.
The boys’ clothes were soaked through. Water ran down the slopes, gathered into streams, and eroded the paths. Where they could have walked just recently, muddy torrents now flowed. Staying in the valley was dangerous due to the risk of a mudslide, so the boys hurried to climb higher — towards the top of the hill.
Upon reaching a high hill, the boys realized there was nowhere to hide in the open. Nearby was only an old, solitary juniper standing at the top, and they hurried towards it.
Later, relatives, citing the account of one of the survivors, said that rumors about the boys being on their phones or listening to music at that moment were not true. On the contrary, they were protecting their phones — hiding them in their pockets to prevent the hail from breaking the screens and the water from damaging the devices.
Near the juniper, as relatives later relayed from one of the survivors, the boys saw a whitish veil in front of them — like a thick fog. Almost immediately, there was a deafening clap.
It happened instantlyJumabek later recounted the circumstances of the incident to his family. He said that at that moment, they were caught in an air vortex and lifted upwards. The survivor’s memory retained only the first moments after the strike. He managed to see Sanjar being thrown through the juniper branches, falling from a height onto uneven ground. After that, the boy lost consciousness.
When people reached the scene of the tragedy, Sanjar no longer showed signs of life. Jasur and Jumabek lay unconscious, their clothes charred. Belongings and food items were scattered around. Witnesses said the kettle from the backpack was blown to pieces. The lightning struck the large juniper with such force that it split the trunk and tore off part of it.
The nearest village, Kaduchi, was about four to five kilometers away. When the news of the incident reached the village, locals started gathering people to help. More than twenty young men set off in the rain to the scene of the tragedy.
The path was difficult: wet slopes, wind, washed-out paths, water underfoot. People walked cautiously because, after such a downpour, moving on the slopes in the mountains is always dangerous.
The injured boys were placed on donkeys. A stretcher was quickly made for Sanjar. His body was carried on shoulders. The rain continued, the ground was slippery, and balance was hard to maintain. People fell, got up, and continued downwards. After several hours, the boys were brought to the village, and then transported by car to the city of Tursunzoda. At 19:10, the hospital received the deceased’s body and the two injured.
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