Woman killed as lightning strikes room

A female employee from the Koggala Free Trade Zone has died after a lightning strike hit a lodging house in the Kokwatta area of Habaraduwa, Galle. Habaraduwa Police confirm that another female employee sustained severe burn injuries in this tragedy.

The young woman who unfortunately died in this manner is Imasha Madhubashini Hithawansha, aged twenty-six. The lightning struck the house around 12:30 AM today (03) amidst heavy rainfall affecting the area, at which time both these garment factory employees were residing there.

After the lightning struck the room they were in, the internal equipment was burnt. How the lightning traveled is still under investigation.

Immediately after the incident, both injured women were admitted to the Karapitiya National Hospital in Galle with the assistance of the 1990 Suwasariya ambulance service. However, a spokesperson for Karapitiya Hospital confirmed to the media that one young woman had already died by the time she was brought to the hospital. The other employee, who sustained serious injuries from the lightning strike, is currently receiving further treatment at the same hospital.