Lightning kills two, injures 150 in South Africa

Lightning kills two, injures 150 in South Africa

by AFP Staff Writers
Johannesburg (AFP) Jan 4, 2026

Lightning struck 150 people gathered at a festival north of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing two, local health services said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night near the village of Mathibestad, about 70 kilometres (40 miles) of Pretoria, where a traditional celebration is held every year.

The North West health department said 150 patients came to a health clinic after being struck by lightning during the event, adding that two died and 13 were in critical condition and transferred to another health facility.

Storms are frequent in this part of South Africa during the current summer season in the southern hemisphere.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

RELATED CONTENT

The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.

Sweden's death toll from storm rises to three
Helsinki (AFP) Dec 28, 2025
The death toll in Sweden rose to three after a storm battered Scandinavia Saturday and overnight, with thousands still without power on Sunday. The storm, dubbed Johannes in Sweden, swept over large parts of the northern half of the country and western parts of Finland. A man in his 60s who had been working in the forest was hit by a falling tree on Saturday in Hofors in Sweden, police said on Sunday. He later died of his injuries in the hospital. The fatality adds to the two report ... read more

Drone phenomics sharpen genetic signals and automate field trait extraction in maize and peanut breeding

Ticking time bomb: Some farmers report as many as 70 tick encounters over a 6-month period

Black carbon from straw burning limits antibiotic resistance in plastic mulched fields

Australia 'disappointed' with China's beef tariffs

Hydrogen from organic carbon in deep sediment hosted hydrothermal systems

Conservationists sue Trump admin over inaction on horseshoe crabs

2025 warmest year on record in North Sea: German maritime agency

'Tuna King' pays record $3.2 mn for bluefin at Tokyo auction

German emissions cuts slow, North Sea has warmest year on record

Trump pulls US out of key climate treaty, deepening global pullback

How Climate Policies that Incentivize and Penalize Can Drive the Clean Energy Transition

Regional temperature records broken across the world in 2025

3D mapping shows how passivation boosts perovskite solar cells

German renewable energy shift slowed in 2025

PCBM additive strategy lifts efficiency and durability of inverted perovskite solar cells

NUS team boosts durability of vapor deposited perovskite silicon tandem solar cells

Biochar layer boosts hydrogen rich gas yields from corn straw

Beer yeast waste could provide scaffold for cultivated meat production

Garden and farm waste targeted as feedstock for new bioplastics

Carbon monoxide enables rapid atomic scale control for fuel cell catalysts

Japan nuclear plant operator may have underestimated quake risks

'I can't walk anymore': Afghans freeze to death on route to Iran

'Shivering from cold and fear': winter rains batter displaced Gazans

Thais, Cambodians fear returning home despite border truce

Polymer nanoparticles drive platinum free solar hydrogen

Delta and beach bar sand bodies offer new framework for buried shoreline reservoirs

Orbital cycles control Jurassic shale oil sweet spots in Sichuan Basin

Brazil oil drilling near Amazon halted over 'fluid leak'

Asian markets mixed as traders eye US jobs data

Japan urges China to drop 'unacceptable' new export controls

Oil extends losses as Trump flags Venezuela shipments, stocks mixed

Canada's Carney to visit China, signaling thaw in relations

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.