CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A pineapple plantation worker was killed after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm in the outskirts of Sumilao, Bukidnon, on Thursday afternoon.
Police said the victim was loading harvested pineapples from Field 17 onto a truck when heavy rains, accompanied by lightning and thunder, suddenly hit the area.
The worker was reportedly standing on top of the truck when he was struck by lightning and died on the spot.
Witnesses said plantation workers were harvesting pineapples when the storm began. Most of them immediately left the open field and sought shelter in nearby wooded areas.
The victim, however, remained on top of the truck and was later found sprawled on the pineapple cargo.
The incident was the latest in a series of lightning-related fatalities in Northern Mindanao.
In June last year, a 30-year-old fisherman was killed while his companion was seriously injured after lightning struck their motorized banca off Barangay Baluarte, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, during heavy rains.
Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department officials identified the fatality as Noel Balaba and the injured fisherman as Gerry Jadap, both residents of Sitio Nabolud in Barangay Baluarte.
Barangay chairman Roman Pagara said the two had gone fishing despite inclement weather when lightning struck their boat. The impact threw Balaba into the sea while Jadap remained onboard.
Residents rushed to the scene and brought Jadap to a hospital. Balaba’s body was recovered after a 30-minute search.
In a separate incident in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, a farmer and a 14-year-old relative were killed when lightning struck their home during a thunderstorm.
