The boys were identified by some neighbors on social networks as Luis Antonio and Maicol
14ymedio, Havana, June 8, 2025 — The municipality of Bauta, in the province of Artemisa, experienced a day of mourning after several fatal events resulted in the deaths of three minors. In the first case, a three-year-old girl drowned on the beach, and two teenagers, 13 and 16, were struck by lightning.
According to the official press, which barely revealed details about the incidents, the girl and her family lived in the municipality of Caimito but were allegedly on holiday in a house at Playa Baracoa.
In the case of the teenagers, the local newspaper, El Artemiseño, said they were struck by lightning around 5:30 pm on Saturday while playing football “outdoors” in the neighborhood of Pita, in the popular council Urban 2 of Bauta. The boys were identified by some neighbors on social networks as Luis Antonio and Maicol, without giving any last names.
They were struck by lightning near 5:30 pm on Saturday while playing “outdoor” soccer in the Pita neighborhood
While in other countries warnings are frequent to the population to take shelter when there are thunderstorms, the weather reports on the island rarely include calls to the population to protect themselves from lightning, which is usually fatal when it hits someone.
In July 2020, two people died and 12 others were injured in the municipality of Florida, Camagüey, due to an electric shock. The victims of the accident were traveling along a road in the territory when they were struck by lightning, and the survivors had to be admitted to local hospitals.
Cuba records an annual average of 54 deaths from lightning strikes, the leading cause of death due to meteorological phenomena on the island, with 1,742 deaths between 1987 and 2017, according to the latest available data from a study carried out by specialists of the Island’s Meteorological Institute (Insmet).
At that time, lightning deaths exceeded those caused by hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural phenomena, although the erosion of infrastructure and lack of resources to protect citizens may have influenced these figures in recent years.
Translation by Regina Anavy
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