Gadgets blamed for lightning deaths

MOSCOW, July 18 (UPI) -- Lightning has killed and injured more than a dozen people in Russia in the past two weeks, officials say.

CNN reported Friday that some officials are blaming widespread use of electronic gadgets such as cell phones for an increase in deadly lightning strikes.

Most recently, three sunbathers were killed in the town of Neftekamsk, CNN said.

One victim, Marina Sadykova, 26, was talking on a cell phone when she was killed. Her cell phone was found melted in her hand, police said.

Leonid Tarkov of the weather observation center FOBOS said he believes that the surge in lightning strikes might be connected to the increased use electronic devices such as cellular phones and portable music players.

"These things are electromagnetic field carriers," he said. "That makes them, in essence, conductors. Thunderbolts are frequently attracted to such things, and hits are often connected with a lethal outcome."