Fifty-two cows have been killed by a single lightning strike in a freak accident at a ranch in Uruguay.[/align]
The cows were standing next to a metal wire when the lightning struck. Newspaper El Pais reported that the cows had pressed themselves against a wire fence during a storm when the lightning bolt struck in the northern Uruguayan state of San Jose.
A photograph released by the San Jose Police Department shows the black and brown cows lying dead in a row. The newspaper said that vets at the scene confirmed the cause of the deaths, which happened on Wednesday. The experts also said that cows often crowd around fences to seek protection during bad weather.
Meteorologist Fernando Torena said he was not surprised that a single lightning bolt killed so many cows. But he called it "very bad luck".
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