A newly wedded couple has not lived to testify about the joy of marriage after one of them was hit by lightning two days after their honeymoon.
Tragedy befell residents of Namukanaga village Namungalwe sub-county Iganga district when a 24-year-old businesswoman was struck dead by lightning.
The deceased, Kamuya Nabirye, died on spot after being hit by lightning as she sat on a bench inside her house, while carrying her three-month-old daughter during a heavy downpour on October 5.
According to the deceased’s husband, Awali Nabatya, who was sharing a bench with his wife at the time, all he saw was a bright light strike through the window in the sitting room, followed by a loud bang.
Nabatya said he later saw his wife drop their three months old daughter before falling down on the floor.
“I realized that there could be trouble and I ran to my neighbors alerting them about what had happened,” he narrated.
The Local Council 1 secretary for defense, Muzamiru Mudoola, said residents rushed to the scene only to find that Nabirye had already passed on.
Mudoola urged the government to provide residents with lightning arresters at a cheap rate, to avoid similar incidents.
He said four people have died in the same village after being hit by lightning since the start of the year.
The deceased had been officially married to her husband two weeks back, and they had just returned from their honeymoon, two days before the incident.
Bugiri John Kitakule, the Senior Environment Officer, said lightning heats the air around to temperatures as hot as 54,000F, (30,000C five times hotter than the surface of the sun).
The heated air expands explosively, creating a shock wave as the surrounding air is rapidly compressed.
The air then contracts rapidly as it cools down creating an initial crack sound followed by rumbles as the column of air continues to vibrate.
Kitakule urged locals to avoid standing under trees during a heavy downpour and to also avoid using electrical gadgets as it rains because they are likely to cause fatal accidents.
The district police commander Iganga, Davis Ndawula urged locals to install lightning conductors on their houses, to avoid similar incidents.
