Lightning strike kills 1, hurts another in Albay town

LEGAZPI CITY – A 20-year-old man died while another was hurt after their houses were struck by lightning in Sto. Domingo town in Albay province on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Inspector Genevieve Oserin, chief of Sto. Domingo police, said that Ryan Balute was charging his cellphone at home in Barangay (village) San Andres when lightning struck at around 4:20 p.m.

“He was holding his phone when the lightning struck their house, and the supply of the electricity was on and off,” Oserin said, quoting relatives of the victim.

He was taken to the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital in Daraga town, but he died on the way.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring house, Editha Balute, 40, Ryan’s aunt, was hurt when the electric charge from the same lighting reached her in the kitchen. She was brought to the same hospital for treatment. /ee