Charging mobile phone electrocutes Indonesian girl to death during lightning strike

A generic photo of lightning. Salsabila Ayu Putri was playing with a mobile phone that was charging during a rainstorm at around 4pm when lightning struck the house. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

JAKARTA (THE JARARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A young girl apparently died from electrocution on Wednesday (Dec 12), when lightning struck Sanja village in Bogor regency, West Java.

Bogor Police spokesman Adjunct Commissioner Ita Puspita said that the victim, six-year-old Salsabila Ayu Putri, was playing with a mobile phone that was charging during a rainstorm at around 4pm.

"It was raining and lightning struck the house," Ms Ita said, as quoted by tempo.co.

She explained that the victim's mother, Ms Widiya, 30, said she received an electric shock when she unplugged the charger right after the lightning hit.

"When (Ms Widiya) unplugged the cellphone (charging) cable, she said an electrical current shocked her hand," said Ms Ita, and that the woman then saw her daughter lying on the floor with her right cheek over the phone.

"When Ms Widiya lifted her daughter, she saw that Salsabila's right cheek was blistered and her chest blackened," Ms Ita added.

Ms Widiya immediately called for help from her neighbours, but it was too late, as Salsabila had stopped breathing.

The family has refused an autopsy on their daughter's body.

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