Photo of a lightening elsewhere @ courtesy

A boy was killed, his cousin and four other siblings injured in separate lightning strikes in Yambio town of Western Equatoria State on Monday.

Yambio town Mayor John Singira says lightning struck a house at Kpirabe residential area, killing a child and injuring another.

Similar incident in Malakiya residential area left four siblings injured.

According to Singira, both incidents happened at around 3:00PM amid a heavy downpour.

“Yesterday (Monday) at around 3:00 pm, there was a heavy rain when the thunder struck children. One house had 4 children, and the other house had 2, one was dead, two were in critical condition  but the other one is at least fine.

Meanwhile, eyewitness Nancy Peter says the deceased was her brother’s son. Nancy’s son was struck along with the brother’s as they ran to collect a fallen Mango in the neighborhood.

Her son survived the lightning strike.  “When it was raining,  we were inside the room. Then a mango fell in the house of a neighbor and when they [children] ran to bring the mango,  the thunder struck them.

“When I ran from the room, I found two of them on the ground, one died and the other one was still breathing. The one that died is my brother’s son. Then I took my son to the hospital and he was given medicines and he is now okay,” she narrated to to Eye Radio what happened.

Lighting is common in Western Equatoria State and has claimed several lives each year.

According to National Geographic, lightning kills or can cause cardiac arrest, including injuries ranging from severe burns and permanent brain damage to memory loss and personality change.