Tragedy strikes in impoverished village: 3 workers killed by lightning.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of October 5th, the bodies of the three workers who died in the lightning strike at the Thuong Song Ong hydropower plant (Ninh Thuan province) were brought back to their hometown in Dien Lam commune (Dien Chau district).

On the fateful afternoon of October 3rd, a devastating lightning strike occurred at the Thuong Song Ong hydroelectric power plant construction site in Quang Son commune, Ninh Son district (Ninh Thuan province), killing three workers and injuring two others. All the victims resided in Dien Lam commune and were employed as laborers by Thanh Dat Construction Joint Stock Company (headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City) as construction workers.

Luong Ngoc Anh's parents were devastated when their son died in a lightning strike.

Two people injured are currently being treated at Ninh Son District General Hospital: Nguyen Van Viet (28 years old) and Le Van Phi (27 years old). Having just recovered from the lightning strike, Viet quickly called his wife back home to inform her of the tragic incident.

Over a month ago, Viet and a group of 12 workers from Dien Lam commune followed a local contractor to work as laborers at the Thuong Song Ong hydroelectric project (Ninh Thuan province).

On the afternoon of October 3rd, a lightning strike during a sudden thunderstorm killed three workers sheltering in a makeshift camp: Luong Ngoc Anh (25 years old), Nguyen Van Trong (32 years old), and Le Van Hai (21 years old) - all residents of Dien Lam commune (Dien Chau district).

Mr. Dau Van Dung, head of Hamlet 10, Nam Lam (Dien Lam commune), shared: "Never before has our locality had to hold funerals for three people who died from lightning strikes in one day like today. They were the main breadwinners of their families, and because of their difficult circumstances, they had to work as laborers to earn a living, but unexpectedly, they lost their lives in a foreign land like this."

In a dilapidated house nestled on the edge of a windswept hill, the family of Luong Ngoc Anh (25 years old, residing in Hamlet 10, Nam Lam, Dien Lam Commune) is preparing for his funeral. Neighbors have gathered to stretch a tattered tarpaulin to prevent rainwater from falling onto the coffin placed in the yard.

Born into a farming family, Ánh suffered from a congenital deformity in her left leg from a young age, making walking very difficult. Ánh's mother, Hồ Thị Đào (53 years old), is not mentally sound, while her father, Lương Ngọc Quế (57 years old), is frail, so the entire family's income depends on four plots of leased rice paddies in the low-lying, flood-prone area, with inconsistent yields each season.

Out of love for her hardworking parents, after graduating from high school, Anh took on odd jobs, doing whatever work she could find. After seven years of hard work, the money Anh sent home to care for her sick parents was still insufficient.

With a dazed expression after two sleepless nights awaiting his younger brother's body, Luong Ngoc Duong (33 years old, Anh's older brother) sobbed as he recounted: "Just after the harvest season, Anh asked to work as a construction worker with a group of workers in the commune. He said that at the end of the year, after saving enough money, he would come back to repair the dilapidated house and take Mom for medical treatment..." Late in the afternoon of October 3rd, hearing the tragic news of his younger brother's death in the camp due to a lightning strike, Duong was completely devastated.

Not far from Mr. Anh's house, the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Trong (32 years old, residing in Hamlet 3, Nam Lam, Dien Lam Commune) is also preparing for a funeral. Since hearing the tragic news of her husband's death by lightning, Ms. Vu Thi Long (31 years old) has been fainting repeatedly and needs to be helped up by others.

The family is saddened by the sudden passing of Mr. Nguyen Van Trong.

More than a month ago, Mr. Trong and his fellow villagers boarded a bus to Ninh Thuan to work, instructing Ms. Long to work hard so they could have a decent Tet holiday in their new home at the end of the year. “Little did we know, that would be the last time he would leave his wife and children. The sudden tragedy is too unexpected; I don’t know where his two young children and wife will find support,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh, a relative of Mr. Trong, with a heavy heart. Holding her two children, one four years old and the other just one, both wearing yellow and white mourning clothes, Ms. Long wept uncontrollably beside her husband’s coffin. “My husband, how could you leave me and our children like this…?”

Reportedly, following the incident, Quang Son Hydropower Joint Stock Company, representing the investor of the Thuong Song Ong Hydropower project, provided 20 million VND to the three families of the deceased to help with funeral arrangements. In addition, after the incident, the Ninh Son District People's Committee also visited and provided 2 million VND per deceased person and 1 million VND per injured person.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Hau, Secretary of the Dien Lam Commune Party Committee, said: "For now, the local government will work with the families to handle the funeral arrangements for the victims, and various organizations and associations will visit and encourage the families to overcome difficulties and stabilize their lives as soon as possible."

Doan Hoa