Lightning kills one child, injures another in Kharkiv Region

Lightning has killed a 12-year-old boy and injured his friend, 12, who was hospitalized after a thunderstorm in Kharkiv Region, Kharkiv police spokeswoman Oksana Kalmykova told Ukrinform’s local correspondent.

"The tragedy occurred yesterday in the village of Varvarivka in Volchansky district. Two boys, aged 12, were riding on a swing attached to a tree branch. The thunderstorm began suddenly, and the tree was struck by a bolt of lightning. As a result, one boy died, and the other was hospitalized,"  said Kalmykova.

She noted the deceased child was visiting his grandparents in the village whilst on vacation.

"As to the other child victim, he lives in this village. He is now being looked after in the clinic. As a result of the neurological shock he suffered, he can’t walk on his own. His general state of health is stable," the spokeswoman added.

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