2 South Koreans killed by lightening in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two South Koreans were killed and three others were injured in a lightning strike in the hilly central part of Sri Lanka, an official said here on Sunday.

The five people were part of a tourist group holidaying in the country, Police spokesman Ajith Rohana told Xinhua.

"The group was on holiday in the hill town of Haputale when the incident occurred. The injured are being treated at hospital. Initially the deceased were rumored to be Chinese but later they were identified as South Korean," he said.

Around of 30 people have been recorded to have been killed by lightening last year, according to the Disaster Management Ministry.

This is the first tourist casualty recorded in the country since Sri Lanka's tourism took off after the end of a three decade war in 2009.

Several international brands including Shangri-la, Sheraton, Hyatt and Sun City have already signed on to invest around 2 billion U.S. dollars in hotel projects.

During the first eight months of 2012, tourist arrivals rose 15. 8 percent to 622,661 with August numbers increasing 9.7 percent from a year earlier. Sri Lanka has set a target of one million tourists for 2012. Enditem

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