By Daily Mail (World News) | Created at 2026-08-06 11:25:18 | Updated at 2026-08-06 12:23:06
1 hour ago
A Russian marine was struck by lightning while fleeing a bear on horseback, causing his steed to collapse on top of him, leaving him temporarily paralysed, according to local media.
He then crawled more than half a mile to safety using just one arm, the reports say.
The unnamed soldier was riding in Russia's mountainous Altai Republic while home on leave from Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
He claimed he spotted a brown bear chasing him and galloped towards a tree, intending to tether his horse before confronting the beast, he told medics.
But as he reached it, lightning struck. The bolt blasted through the tree, the horse and its rider, according to Dmitry Khubezov, spokesman for the Altai Republic's health ministry.
The horse was killed instantly and collapsed on top of the marine, trapping his leg beneath its body, as the raging bear glared from a distance.
The lightning's electrical charge reportedly struck the back of the soldier's head and neck, setting fire to his cap and jacket collar.
Khubezov said: 'His whole body was instantly paralysed - only one arm could move, and even then only with great difficulty.'
Somehow the marine used his functioning arm to drag his leg free. Fearing the bear, he crawled towards the nearest road, over half a mile away.
A Russian marine was reportedly struck by lightning while fleeing a bear, before his horse collapsed on top of him, leaving him paralysed
The lightning's electrical charge struck the back of the soldier's head and neck
According to TASS, citing the regional Ministry of Health, the bear was unharmed by the lightning strike and continued to follow the soldier all the way to the highway until he managed to scare it away by firing his rifle.
Feeling palpitations, the soldier reportedly struck his chest to perform makeshift CPR.
He eventually reached the roadside, where passing motorists spotted him and rushed him to the nearest hospital.
The marine remains under treatment and has become a legend among medical staff stunned by his survival.
A medic said: 'When I first heard it, I didn't believe it until I spoke to him myself. But it's all absolutely true.'
The serviceman's family has been devastated by Putin's war. Both of the marine's elder brothers killed while fighting in Ukraine.
'Whatever happens in life, no matter how difficult it may be, you must never give up,' Khubezov said.
