Dongo - At least four members of the same family died after being struck by lightning on Monday in the municipality of Dongo, Central Huila province, including two sisters and their two grandchildren.
The victims included a one-year-old toddler, a 13-year-old boy and two women, aged 59 and 62, who were in the area on business, as they lived in the neighboring province of Cubango.
According to fire department spokeswoman Inspector Teresa Abel, the incident occurred in the village of Lihanda, 50 kilometers from the municipal capital. The lightning struck the house where they were staying, which caught fire.
The spokeswoman reported that the bodies were collected by neighbors and that the area is of occurrence of several lightning strikes, given its mineralogical potential, so people should, in cases of intense rain, look for safe shelters and disconnect from electronic devices.
Dongo is located about 270 kilometers east of Lubango and has an estimated population of 60,000.
The electrical discharge is caused by the difference in potential between two pieces of matter (earth or cloud) that ionize the air along a certain path, creating plasma that emits electromagnetic radiation. Part of this radiation is emitted in the form of light, a phenomenon we call lightning. JT/MS/DAN/AMP
