Zambia: A family in the Kapiri Mposhi District was struck by lightning in the early hours of the morning on November 21, 2023. The household consisted of a couple and their two-year-old baby. The baby and his father have died as a result of the accident.
Meanwhile, the mother is currently in a rural health centre and nursing serious burns. The law enforcement officials of the district have shared some details about the incident with the people of the area.
The authorities revealed that the victims were sleeping in the house when it was struck by lightning in Sixteen Area around 01:00 hours. Only one member of the family has survived this unforeseen disaster, and she is also in a critical condition.
Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner Francis Hasalama has confirmed the incident and shared the identities of the deceased victims. The father was identified as Maybin Musonda, aged 26 and his son Clifford Musonda aged 2. Both the victims died on the spot as a result of the incident.
Meanwhile, Hasalama said the third person, who is the wife to the deceased man and mother to the baby, survived the incident. She has been admitted to Lukomba Rural Health Centre, where she is nursing serious burns.
According to the official report of the District Commissioner, “This family was sleeping, and when it started raining in the area, their house was struck by lightning. A man and his two-year-old son died on the spot, but the mother survived, and she is at the clinic getting treatment,” he said.
Presently, the district authorities of Kapiri Mposhi are making arrangements through the Disaster Management and Mitigation (DMMU) to bury the bodies as they were burnt beyond recognition.
Further, Hasalama disclosed that the government, through the DMMU, will facilitate the funeral and burial arrangements for the deceased through the DMMU component under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).