Lightning kills 3 at memorial in northern Colombia

Three people where killed and 12 injured when a lightning struck through a television antenna in a house in a small village in the state of Sucre in northern Colombia, during a remembrance gathering.

The incident happened Wednesday close to 10pm in the village  San José de Calastraba, close to the city of Sucre. A large number of people had gathered for the last night of a nine nights of remembrance of the recently-deceased Digna Sandoval, the newspaper El Comunicador reported.

An unknown number of people were gathered in the house of Mrs. Sandoval’s daughter to support the family in their loss.

Apparently the lightning struck through an home-made television antenna in the living room. Rain felt while around 100 people were gathered in the house. The victims, who died almost immediately, were identified as Tovar Alberto Perez, 58, Palencia Santodomingo Quintero, 62, and James Hoyos Vergara, 18, according to the newspaper Vanguardia.

Six of the injured are receiving care at a local hospital, while six have been discharged. The Mayor of the city of Sucre, Miguel Martinez Perez , lamented what happened and told the newspaper Vanguardia, that he is making arrangements to transfer the victims with most serious injuries to a clinic in the city of Barranquilla further north from Sucre.

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