Lightning kills boy, hurts playmate in Valenzuela City

A teenage boy was killed while his playmate was wounded when lightning struck the mound where they were playing during a thunderstorm in Barangay Isla, Valenzuela City, an exclusive report on "24 Oras" said Thursday.

Jules Dagdag, 13, was declared dead on arrival while Michael Viray, 9, was still under observation in a hospital, the report said.

"Yung bato niya na-apektuhan," Marites Korminal, Viray's aunt, said. "Kailangan po namin ng konting pera."

Another boy, Jeremiah Isaac Puato, survived the incident after Dagdag pushed him away from the mound, the report said. His relatives said he has been uncommunicative since the incident due to shock.

A witness, Jeffrey Ongog, said the boys went to the mound to watch the hail that came with the thunderstorm. "Dito po sila, diyan sa may taas po. Nagke-kwentuhan po," he said.

William Dagdag, Jules' father, said he was calling his son but the boy could not hear him because of the noise created by the thunderstorm.

"Tinatawag ko, hindi ako naririnig. Maya-maya, kumulog na, kumidlat, natamaan na," he said.

GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel Cruz said the boy was struck because he was the nearest conductor for the lightning in the open area surrounding the mound he and his friends were playing on.

"Yung pinaka-maigsing distansya mula sa lupa papunta sa kalangitan, 'yan yung dadaanan ng kidlat. Kaya 'yung mga bata na 'yun ay nasa isang tumpok ng lupa na mas mataas kesa dun sa ibang kinalalagyan nila, kaya may tendency na duon tumama yung kidlat," he explained.

Cruz then advised the public to stay inside concrete structures during intense thunderstorms to avoid being struck by lightning.

"'Wag na 'wag kayong tatabi sa isang, halimbawa, sapa o tubig dahil ang tubig ay napakagandang electric conductor," he said.

Earlier this month, three children from Baseco Compound in Port Area, Manila, died after a lightning bolt struck Manila Bay while they were swimming. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News