House Burnt to Ashes After Being Struck by Lightning
House burnt to ashes after being struck by lightning. Fortunately, all the occupants of the house escaped without a scratch as they managed to evacuate the house before the fire spread to their rooms.
Two families were left homeless and property worth thousands of dollars were burnt beyond recognition when lighting struck a Chikanga house in Manicaland.
A tenant at the house, Lanet Duduzile Mushongani who also lost property told The Manica Post that she and her two-year-old baby were lucky to be alive as they were deep in the throes of sleep when the lightning bolt struck.
She said the lightning bolt struck the house twice before it started a fire on the curtains. “It was around 6pm when the first lightning bolt hit our lounge window and broke it. We just thought it was a passing thing and went to sleep after cleaning up the mess.
“An hour later, the lightning bolt struck again, resulting in a fire in the same room. We were all asleep by then and did not know what was happening,” said Mushongani.
They had to be woken up by neighbours who saw the fire. According to neighbours, the fire brigade took 40 minutes to arrive and they only managed to contain the fire in two of the three rooms, because they had little water.
“They had to go back to get more water and that is when the fire spread into the third room and destroyed everything,” said a neighbour who only identified himself as Mr Makarimai.
Source – iHarare
