The Ngap-Athian Payam administrator in Warrap State’s Gogrial West County said a bolt of lightning during a storm on Saturday at 10 a.m. killed a 34-year-old woman, Anyong Kuot, and injured six men in the local Market over the weekend.
Simon Makuac told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that all the victims were traders in the market and that they had burn-like wounds on their bodies. He said the six men were unconscious until traditional rituals were done to revive them.
“It started to rain heavily on Saturday morning, and lightning struck one woman dead and injured six men in the Ngap-Athian Payam Market. The men later recovered after traditional rituals were carried out by elders,” he narrated. “These people were not taken to the hospital; rather, the village elders and rain and thunder makers brought goats and chicken and sang the ritual song until they rescued the six affected people. The elders believe that if the victims were rushed to the nearby clinic, they would eventually die.”
According to Makuac, the incident scared residents who are carrying out their small businesses in the village.
Meanwhile, Andrea Ader, who witnessed the incident, said the death of Ayong Kuot was very tragic because she lost her only child last year.
“There was a strong wind before the rain started, followed by a strong storm and thunder, which killed Ayong, who was selling groundnut paste and other things,” he said. “Her passing is a tragedy because she was young, at about 34 years of age, and her only child died last year. It is not easy for the bereaved family to bear this pain.”
Ader added that such lightning strikes occur in Ngap-Athian Payam every year and urged the government to install lightning arrestors or relocate the community.