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Lightning Strikes Kills Ten Children at Football Match

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 31 Aug 2020 • 11:07

Ten children have been tragically killed by lightning strikes in the north-western Uganda city of Arua after sheltering in a hut during a storm.

THE children were playing football when heavy rain forced them to take a break in a nearby grass-thatched structure which was struck by lightning. Nine children, aged 13 to 15, were killed straight away while another died on the way to the hospital. Three of the survivors are receiving treatment at the regional hospital.
It is not unusual for the region to be hit by severe thunderstorms this time of year. Lightning strikes in Spain have been reported to spark wildfires over the years although the number of people killed through being struck by lightning is much smaller than in Africa.
A police spokeswoman in Uganda’s West Nile region, Josephine Angucia, said the children had been playing football at a field near the Odramacaku trading centre in Arua City.

Explaining what happened, Josephine wrote in a statement: “It’s a very unfortunate and sad incident. May the souls of the deceased rest in peace and may the almighty God comfort the bereaved families in this trying moment. As for the injured, we pray for quick recovery. It is a rainy season with a lot of lightning in West Nile and other similar incidences have been confirmed elsewhere in the same regions.”

Uganda is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa. image: Wikipedia
This is the worst accident of its kind in Uganda since 2011, when 18 children were killed at a school in the mid-western region, in that year alone, 28 people also died from lightning strikes in a single week.
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Tony Winterburn

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