Two people killed after being struck by lightning in Qweqwe village
Two people from Qweqwe village outside Mthatha were killed after being struck by lightning while three others from Mhlontlo municipal area were rushed to hospital after a house collapsed on them after a thunderstorm swept through villages in the OR Tambo district last weekend.
District municipal spokesperson Zimkhita Macingwane said the number of people left homeless by the strong rains accompanied by gale force winds had risen to 48, according to the latest information from their disaster management unit.
“Two people were struck and killed by lightning at Qweqwe village in ward 31 of KSD on Sunday,” she said.”
“The OR Tambo district municipality executive mayor Thokozile Sokanyile would like to send a message of sympathy and condolences to families who have lost their loved ones during severe thunderstorms that wreaked havoc in various parts of the district last weekend.”
Macingwane said three family relatives from ward 11 at Hlabathi village in Mhlontlo had been admitted to Siphethu Hospital near KwaBhaca after their house collapsed on them.
He said the worst affected local municipalities were KSD, Mhlontlo and Nyandeni.
In the three areas, a total of 118 houses were damaged while 48 families were left homeless after their homestead were destroyed.