Two secondary school students died on Wednesday morning after they were struck by lightning in Ibote village, Tharaka South Sub-County, Tharaka Nithi County.
The lightning also burnt the hands of Isabel Kanyua, the mother of the Form Three girls, Jackeline Kanyua (15) and Florida Kendi (16) as she tried to put out the flames on their faces.
The mother told journalists that at around 3am in the middle of a heavy downpour, she saw a strong flash of lightning followed by thunder and soon realised that there was light in the next room where her daughters were sleeping.
She then rushed into the room only to find the bed her daughters were sleeping on engulfed in a flame that was also on their faces.
“I tried to put out the flame on their faces with my hands and I was also burnt,” Ms Kanyua said.
Ran out crying
She said that after putting out the fire, she tried to wake the girls only to find that they were already dead, so she ran out crying, attracting the attention of villagers who responded.
An adjacent tree, which had a metal wire tied to the house where the two girls were sleeping, was also struck, suggesting that the wire conducted the energy.
Confirming the incident, Tharaka South Sub County Police Commander Margaret Magiri said police visited the scene and took the bodies to Marimanti Level Four Hospital mortuary as they continued investigations to establish the exact cause of death.
“We have started investigations into the deaths of the two Form Three girls who are suspected to have been killed by lightning,” Ms Magiri said.
