Father, daughter dead after lightning strike in Quezon town

LUCENA CITY – A farmer and his nine-year-old daughter died after they were struck by lightning in Catanauan town in Quezon province on Thursday night, police said in a belated report Saturday.

Catanauan police said Jomar Funtilar and daughter Jona were resting inside their house in Barangay (village) Tagbacan Ilaya around 7 p.m. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the house, hitting the pair.

The victims died on the spot from severe burns.

Ginilyn Funtilar, Jomar’s wife, reported the incident to the police morning of the next day.

In a phone interview Saturday morning, Police Staff Sergeant Michael Adao, the case investigator, said Ginilyn was not around when the lightning struck. He did not say where she was at the time of the incident.

“The victims were in their open-air kitchen when they were hit by lightning,” Adao said.

Another child, a four-year-old son of the Funtilars, was able to seek shelter inside their bedroom when the lightning storm started and was unharmed.

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