In a tragic incident at a private secondary school in Okpuno, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, three male students lost their lives after being struck by lightning while playing football. The incident occurred during a rainstorm accompanied by thunderstorms on a late Saturday afternoon.
The students had been practicing on the school’s football field in preparation for an upcoming football competition when the lightning struck. According to an eyewitness, about nine students were on the field, and six of them were later resuscitated at the school’s clinic.
A teacher at the school heard the students screaming and discovered the boys trembling and jerking on the field. He raised the alarm, and the injured students were immediately rushed to the school clinic before being transferred to a hospital in Awka. Tragically, three of the students did not survive, while the parents of two others took their corpses home.
A doctor at the hospital noted that the impact of the lightning might have been minimized if the boys had been wearing boots. The incident, which occurred while the students were playing barefoot, has left the community in shock.
The school principal declined to provide a statement when contacted, and the state’s police spokesman stated that the incident had not been reported to the police.