lightning
Lightning killed at least two children from the same family and injured three others in Tanzania's central region of Dodoma, authorities said on Sunday.

Oreiness John, a Mlinduzi ward councilor in Mpwapwa District, said the incident occurred on Saturday evening in Chaludewa village when the two children were playing near their home.

He said while the youngsters were playing, a storm, which was accompanied with lightning, hit the village located 150km from Tanzania's capital Dodoma.

"There was no rain, but the storm was very strong to the extent that parents who were inside the house were forced to come out. When they came out they found the two children already dead," the local official said, adding that the injured were rushed to Chipogolo Health Centre for treatment.

Dodoma Regional Police Commander Lazaro Mambosasa confirmed the incident, pledging to provide more information on the matter on Monday.

Fatalities during lightning storms are common in Tanzania during its two rainy seasons, which typically occur between October and November as well as March and April.

Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs during an electrical storm. This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud (called intra-cloud lightning or IC), between two clouds (CC lightning), or between a cloud and the ground (CG lightning).

Source: Xinhua