From Scott Corrales
[email protected]Inexplicata - The Journal of Hispanic Ufology
12-26-4
El Centro (Talca, Chile)
December 24, 2004
12-26-4
A woman, two girls and three farm workers were injured as a result of the surprise electric storm that was unleashed in the region yesterday.
A family from the La Puntilla sector, in the Longaví Commune, experienced moments of terror after a lighting bolt blasted all of the electrical facilities of their dwelling. The energy then extended itself to a warehouse and pig-farming area.
The electrical storm took place at around 16:00 hours within the framework of a surprise atmospheric phenomenon that brought intense precipitation, thunder and lightining to this section of the Maule Region.
The affected family will hardly forget the terror it experienced on Thursday, when the lightning bolt caused images to three of its occupants, among them two young children. Three farmworkers harvesting raspberries were also injured at the time that the incident occurred.
Householder Luisa Orellana remarked that "it was a complete surprise. I don´t know if the sensation is the same as an earthquake or tremor. It was a tremendous blast that caused the electric shock to hit the house and then go on to adjacent structures."
Orellana is shaken because the utility company responsible for restoring the service advised her that she must replace her entire electrical system, since the existing one was completely burned out. "My family was saved by sheer miracle. You can see the injuries they sustained. We´re going to spend Christmas on alert."
Maria Orellana was the most affected by the lightning bolt. This 40 year-old woman was engaged in homemaking duties when she felt the blast. "The stroke of lightining was such that it burned my lips. The doctor told me that I had to rest and heal myself."
Estefanía and Yasmin Muñoz, ages 10 and 8 respectively, were also injured. The first child received injuries on her left leg while the other received an unusual burn on her back that resembles a sunburst.
"I was stepping out of the house when I felt a blow to my back. I fell down and felt pain. Then I told my mom what had happened to me," said the youngest girl.
Three farmworkers suffered minor injuries.
Most curious of all is that the lightning bolt extended throughout the entire house and later travelled to a pigpen and a warehouse. The lightning stroke was so powerful that a pig -- about to be slaughtered for the New Years festivities -- was killed immediately along with a considerable number of hens. Despite warnings to the contrary by health authorities, the pig was being butchered for consumption within hours of this reporter reaching the scene, 10 kilometers west of the Miraflores crossing on Route 5 South.
A survey of the home´s interior revealed the sheer power of the lightning bolt that caused the light sockets and power outlets to explode, as well as all of the internal wiring required to provide power to bedrooms and living rooms. The phenomenon also damaged the agricultural warehouses of the "El Sauquito" farm.
