A Perth teacher has died and two people have been injured in a suspected lightning strike in north-eastern Thailand.
Greg Crombie, 41, was leading a group of 12 or so students from Perth's Winthrop Baptist College on a week-long cultural exchange trip to Thailand.
The social studies teacher died during an excursion to the Thad Tone waterfalls near the town of Nong Sung, near the Thailand-Laos border.
Local police say the group had been swimming and were resting by the falls when a thunderstorm struck.
A teaching assistant is in a serious condition.
He is expected to be evacuated by helicopter to Bangkok, which is about 600 kilometres away.
One of the year 11 students was also hurt.
The students have to wait until tomorrow before they can fly home.
The school board chairman Rod White says a teacher and a school counsellor flew out to Bangkok last night to support the group until they can get back to Perth.


ABC News
http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2008/...section=justin

Second man dies after Thailand lightning strike

A second Australian has died in hospital after a lightning strike in Thailand.
The 19-year-old youth worker, Thomas McGuiness, was accompanying a Perth school group on a three week cultural exchange tour.
He was critically injured and a 41-year-old teacher, Greg Crombie, died after lightning struck during a thunderstorm while the group was on an excursion to a popular waterfall near the town of Nong Sung.
A female student was injured and is observation in hospital.
Two Thai nationals were also killed.
The chairman of Winthrop Baptist College, Rod White, says Mr McGuiness's parents are on their way to Thailand with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The group of students will head back to Australia soon.

Second man dies after Thailand lightning strike - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

That must have been one helluva lightning strike.

The death toll has now risen to five.

The report I read, from another source said they were under a tree that was struck. They probably all went there for shelter from the rain.