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Plain text3 Kabarole Kids Struck Dead By Lightning
Three children have been struck dead by lightning in Kabarole district during a heavy downpour.
The lightning struck dead Ivan Twasiima, 14, a student at Rwimi Preparatory School, in Rwimi sub-county.
The shocking incident occurred on Friday evening just a few metres away from Rwimi Market.
Boaz Byaruhanga, the father of the deceased, said Twasiima together with his sister Catherine Kobusinge, 11, and a friend David Kagaba, were selling vegetables in Rwimi market at 7pm.
Byaruhanga said when it started raining, Twasiima, Kobusinge and Kagaba sought shelter under a mango tree near Rwimi Health Centre III.
He adds that when they heard the sound of lightning, Kobusinge and Kagaba started running towards the health centre, leaving Twasiima under the tree, where he was struck dead by the lightening.
“Twasiima remained under the tree and it’s where the lightning found, struck and killed him instantly,” Byaruhanga said.
Kobusinge and Kagaba were injured and rushed to Kilembe Hospital in Kasese district in critical condition.
In a related development, in Kichwamba sub-county, two children from the same family were also killed by lightening on Thursday evening.
They are Beatrice Katuutu, 7, and his brother Moses Mugisa, 15 - all residents of Busaiga village.
According to district councilor for Kichwamba sub-county Charles Kalija, the children were struck by lightning while gardening.
The incident has left the kids’ relatives shocked, saddened and deprived, according to Chimp Corp Linda Namara.
Scientists say lightning is an atmospheric electrical discharge (spark) accompanied by thunder, usually associated and produced by cumulonimbus clouds, but also occurring during volcanic eruptions or in dust storms.
From this discharge of atmospheric electricity, a leader of a bolt of lightning can travel at speeds of 220,000 km/h (140,000 mph), and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000 °C (54,000 °F), hot enough to fuse silica sand into glass channels known as fulgurites, which are normally hollow and can extend as much as several meters into the ground.
There are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year.
Lightning causes ionisation in the air through which it travels, leading to the formation of nitric oxide and ultimately, nitric acid, of benefit to plant life below.
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Updated on 2013-05-09 09:25 |
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