Lightning kills one, injures 3
2003-03-27 12:46
Bushbuckridge - One man died and three others - one of them a senior policeman - are in a serious, but stable, condition in hospital after they were struck by lightning preceding a storm that tore through parts of Limpopo, police said on Thursday.
Roofs were ripped from buildings and trees were uprooted during the hail and downpour that started about 17:00 on Tuesday, wreaking havoc in the Bushbuckridge township of Thulamahashe and surrounding villages.
Kruger Masinga, 34, of Kumani village near Thulamahashe was outside a shop with friends, Silence Mabunda, 31, James Mzimba, 45 and off-duty inspector Colbert Monareng, 38, of Mhala police station, when they were struck.
Masinga died instantly and villagers were forced to brave the subsequent hailstorm to take the other three men to Mapulaneng Hospital, said inspector Bonginkosi Msimango.
Windows were shattered
Thulamahashe resident Debra Ndlovu said: "I picked up my two baby girls and rushed into the house, but the storm threatened to remove our roof, so we ran to our neighbour to take cover there until it was over."
They returned home to chaos.
"Nearly all the windows were shattered and rainwater had turned the streets into rivers," said Ndlovu, saying many had been left homeless by the storm.
Bushbuckridge municipality is assessing the extent of the damage to determine how best to help storm victims, said municipality disaster team head Calson Magopane.
Meanwhile, about 150 children at Amukelani pre-school in Thulamahashe have had their lessons in tents for more than a year after their school's roof collapsed during a hailstorm in February 2002.
School principal Isabel Mathebula said: "When it's hot, the children are forced to leave the tent and scramble for shade under the trees." - African Eye News Service