One killed, 15 injured in lightning strike in KZN
A teenager was killed and a further 15 people were injured in a lightning strike on a homestead in Maphumulo in KwaZulu-Natal, paramedics said on Wednesday.
Robert McKenzie, spokesman for the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Emergency Medical Service (EMS), said that the 16 were reportedly watching television in a thatched rondavel in the rural area when the lightning strike happened on Tuesday evening.
“We’re not exactly sure what happened, but it seems the lightning hit the 16-year old who was standing in the doorway and he may have then acted as a conductor.”
The 16-year old succumbed to his injuries, while five people were seriously injured and 10 sustained minor injuries.
EMS took the injured to the Maphumulo Provincial Hospital and Stanger Provincial Hospital in KwaDukuza.
Maphumulo is about 40 kilometres northwest of KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger)