
Executive Assistant Dionilo Bogtae, head of the Sipalay Public Safety and Sipalay Emergency Assistance and Rescue Services (SEARS), identified the fatality as Christian Escarlan. Injured were John Rey Villacora, 21, his 15-year-old brother, and Ma. Cristena Lavilla, 20.
Bogtae said the victims were walking in an open field to plant trees when lightning hit them during a heavy downpour.
The victims had other companions, Bogtae said, but were at a distance when the lightning struck.
Escarlan died on the spot while the siblings were referred to a hospital here. Lavilla was admitted to a hospital in Sipalay.
Bogtae said the area is far from the barangay proper and vehicles could not enter the vicinity. It took them a while to reach the area due to the muddy trail from the downpour.