14 DAY TRIAL // Failing to possess any shred of luck is usually obvious when a luckless person dies. Such was the case with a Chinese man, Wang Diange, who experienced one of the most unusual and rarest deaths possible.
While idling in his home, minding his own business, he was struck out of the blue by a fairly small and relatively sharp metal object, which killed him on the spot, while also burning him substantially. When his relatives returned home and noticed the large hole in the roof and the burnt dead man, they concluded that the poor guy was struck by lightning, and proceeded to bury, or, in this case, cremate him, according to local custom.
Unfortunately, that didn't pan out so well either, as the man's body exploded in the crematory shortly after it was deposited there, sending the door out of its hinges, and into the room. It was only then that all present, upon closer inspection, discovered that the man had the remains of a weather rocket in his body, the kind that are used to turn hail into rain to avoid property damage during large storms.
While this discovery did little to revive the man, it became clear that the rocket had failed to explode on target. Instead, after reaching its climbing peak, it began descending, and hit the ground right after it passed through Wang's roof and surprised body. Chinese authorities failed to comment on the matter, but noted that the use of such devices is not rare.
As this incident happened some three years ago, it remained a mystery to the media, until the Chinese Weather Agency gave Wang's family 80,000 yuan (roughly $12,000) in compensation for their loss. The officials say that these malfunctions in the rockets are very rare, and that they have never before made any fatality among the civilian population.