Lightning bolt kills Danish cows

The farmer hopes to be compensated for the loss of livestock

A Danish dairy farmer is mourning the loss of 31 of his cows, killed in a lightning strike in Jutland.

The dead Jersey cows, from a herd of 85, had been sheltering under a tree during a rain storm on Tuesday.

Farmer Kurt Nielsen said his property near Assing, about 270 kilometres (170 miles) west of Copenhagen, was hit a number of times during the storm.

"When I went out to the barn to milk the remaining cows the tears came," he told the Ritzau news agency.

"It is a really terrible thing."

The Danish insurers' association said it was the largest number of reported deaths of farm animals from a single bolt of lightning.

Mr Nielsen said his insurance company had promised to compensate him for the dead livestock and lost milk income.

The Danish Meteorological Institute recorded 5,808 lightning strikes across central Denmark on Tuesday.

Veterinarian Johannes Kejser told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper that the cows had died instantly.