Lightning kills children playing football in Uganda

Ten children have been killed in a lightning strike while sheltering from a storm during a football game in northern Uganda, police said on Friday.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, had been sheltering from a storm in a makeshift structure in Arua city, northwest of the capital Kampala on Thursday, police spokesperson Josephine Angucia told dpa.

“These are young boys who had been playing football when rain began to fall and lightning struck them,” Ms Angucia said.

The children were sheltering from the rain in a grass-thatched house when the lightning struck Thursday evening.

The police said “they had been playing soccer in a nearby field.”

Four other children were injured.

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“Relatives have been picking up the bodies from the mortuary since yesterday and the burials are taking place from today,” she added.

Ms Angucia said “Deadly lightning is commonly reported in the East African country during the wet seasons, urging children to avoid playing in the rain.”

The football pitches are usually within or near schools.

“It’s advisable for schools to fix lightning arrestors so that we offer protection to our children,” she said.

Uganda National Meteorological Authority recently warned of enhanced rainfall, coupled with floods, thunderstorms and lightning over several parts of the country that could lead to a loss of lives and property.

(dpa/NAN)