Zambia: Three children of Ngombe Village in Senga District in Northern Province have died after they were struck by lightning. The trio, who were in the company of five other children, died around 3:00 PM on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.
The children were playing in their aunt’s house. Two of the deceased children are from the same family. The various communities of Zambia have recorded many incidents of lightning strikes killing families in the previous weeks.
The Senga District authorities believe that the reason for these unfortunate occurrences can be attributed to bad weather and incessant rains in the region. The Ngombe Village was also experiencing some rain before the unfortunate incident happened.
Both Senga Hill District Commissioner Jestus Sikazwe and Matildah Najela, who is aunt to two of the deceased, confirmed the sad development.
District Commissioner Sikazwe said the victims were aged between 6 and 10 years. They were taken to the health centre for medical treatment. However, they were pronounced dead upon arrival at Nsokolo Rural Health Centre In Senga Hill.
He named the deceased as Joseph Sichula (age 8), Nevers Siuluta (age 6) and Trust Siuluta (age 10). All the children were residents of the same village.
Meanwhile, the District Commissioner has announced that the administration government is saddened by the untimely passing of the children.
Talking about the incident, the aunt to the children, Matildah Nanjela, said the deceased were playing with five other children in her house. That was when the lightning struck, killing three while five survived.
According to the statement of Nanjela, the incident happened at 15:00 hours after the area experienced some rain.
She said the survivors were rushed to a health facility for medical attention and have since been discharged. Further, Nanjela said the deceased will be put to rest today.
The people of the country have expressed their sorrow for the untimely death of the young children because of the lightning.