Three Senior Secondary School students of Tansi International College, Akwa, Anambra were killed by thunder on Saturday.
In a heart-wrenching incident, three Senior Secondary School students from Tansi International College in Akwa, Anambra, met their untimely demise due to a lightning strike on a fateful Saturday.
According to an eyewitness account, tragedy struck when a group of nine male students were engaged in a spirited game of football with their peers. The match was being played barefooted on the school’s pitch when a sudden and devastating lightning bolt descended upon them.
The abrupt lightning strike resulted in the loss of three young lives, leaving the school community and their families in a state of shock and mourning. The surviving students who were also affected by the incident are receiving necessary medical attention and support.
“The students were practicing on the football pitch with their coach preparatory to a football tournament.
“The coach had ended the training session before rain started, but some of the students stayed behind to continue playing football.
“Lightning, accompanied by claps of thunderstorm suddenly enveloped the area and the boys were struck in the process.
“A teacher heard the students screaming and running. He ran to the field and saw at least nine students trembling and jerking on the turf.
“That was when he raised the alarm and people gathered to help. The boys were immediately rushed to the school clinic, from where they were taken to hospital in Awka.
“Six of the nine boys were resuscitated and are currently receiving treatment, but three did not survive. Their parents have been contacted,’’ the witness told NAN.
A resident, Mrs Hope Egwu, said that news of the accident went round on Sunday and everyone had been held spellbound.
At the hospital in Awka, parents and sympathisers trooped into the ward where the survivors were receiving treatment.
A doctor, who requested anonymity, told NAN that three out of the nine boys were brought into the hospital dead, but six others were revived.
“As of now, parents of two of the dead boys have taken the corpses away, while one is still in the mortuary.
“It is sad that they were playing on the field barefooted. If they had boots on, the impact of the lightning would probably have been minimised,’’ he said.
When contacted, police spokesman in Anambra, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the incident had not been reported to the police.
Prof. Chukwudi Okani, Consultant Pathologist at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, said it was a natural disaster and not spiritual.
Okani said lightning could kill by electrocution through direct strike, side splash or ground current strike.
He advised that people should install thunder arrestors in their buildings to stave off electrical current in the event of lightning.
This tragic incident serves as a somber reminder of the unpredictable forces of nature, and our deepest condolences go out to the families and school community affected by this devastating event.
We would like to give credit to News Agency of Nigeria, NAN for their comprehensive coverage of the report. The information and insights presented in this blog post are based on their informative news report.
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