Lightning 'may have killed man'

The body was found on Slieve Donard

A man found dead on the top of a mountain in County Down may have been struck by lightning.

A post mortem examination on the body found no suspicious circumstances, said police.

It was found on Saturday on Slieve Donard in the Mourne mountains by a group of walkers. The man is thought to be aged in his 30s.

An Irish coastguard helicopter from Dublin brought police and a doctor to the summit where he was recovered.

Ed Kilgore from the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team said the death was very unusual.

"There is lightning in the mountains at times and storms, as anywhere, and the danger simply being because you are that bit higher up, the chances of strikes are possibly a little more risky.

"I have been in the team for more than 25 years and this is the first possible occurrence I am aware of, of someone actually being killed by a lightning strike."