Nine teenagers dead in Uganda lightning strike — Red Cross

KAMPALA, Uganda (AFP) — Nine teenagers have died after being struck by lightning in northwestern Uganda, the Red Cross said Friday.

The thunderbolt struck in Arua, a city near the border with South Sudan, late Thursday where a group of 10 teenagers were playing football.

“Only one child among the 10 playing survived,” Irene Nakasiita, a spokeswoman for Red Cross Uganda, told AFP, adding the victims were aged between 13 and 15.

“Burials by individual families are ongoing.”

It is believed the worst such accident of its kind in Uganda since 2011, when a lightning strike at a primary school killed at least 18 students and injured dozens more.

Lightning strikes causing injury and fatalities are not unheard of in Uganda but such a high death toll is rare.

In February, four endangered mountain gorillas were killed by an apparent lightning strike in Mgahinga National Park in southwest Uganda.