Lightning strikes boy dead

A 15-year-old boy was struck dead by lightning while playing in the rain yesterday afternoon in Valenzuela City.

Victim Lou Salvador of ACA Compound, Malanday, Valenzuela City, died before reaching the Fatima General Hospital, police said.

Relatives told probers the victim and two neighbor boys were reportedly on their way for a swim at a nearby "kangkungan" which had been filled with rainwater after a heavy downpour at around 5 p.m. yesterday when tragedy struck.

The lightning bolt badly burned the victim’s back and part of his face and body. His rubber sandals were burned to a crisp. None of the victim’s friends were hurt. Police said the lightning bolt was so strong it created a hollow depression in the ground.

Virginia Salvador, the victim’s sister, told probers her brother seemed to have premonitions of his death. – Jerry Botial and Nikko Dizon