MUZAFFARABAD: A woman and her two children between the ages of 12 to 16 were killed after lightning struck their mud house in Neelum valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the small hours of Monday, an official said.

Akhtar Ayub, district disaster management officer in Neelum, told Dawn that the incident occurred at about 3:30am in Upper Bata Chatwan — a high altitude hamlet where the residents of low lying Katha Piran village move to during the summers.

He said three of the five family members in the house died after the lightning caused them serious burn wounds.

He identified them as Gul Noor, 58, wife of Siraj Deen, and her children, Naeem, 16, and Noureen, 12.

The traumatized survivors who were sleeping in the next room — Mr Deen, 65, and his another daughter Robina, 15, were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Athmuqam, he added.

Mr Ayub said the bodies of the victims were brought to their Katha Piran village where burial was held in the afternoon.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2021