A father (37) and son (5) are critically ill in hospital after three people were struck by lightning in the grounds of a school in Co Antrim.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) received a report just before 2pm on Tuesday that a man had been struck by lightning in Lisburn.
When a rapid response paramedic and an accident and emergency crew arrived at the grounds of Killowen Primary School on the Laurelhill Road they discovered two children - the man’s son and daughter (7)- were also injured.
Further ambulance service staff were then sent to the scene.
“The male was taken to Lagan Valley Hospital in a critical condition and the children were taken to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children for treatment for burns,” John McPoland from the NIAS said.
A spokeswoman for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust described the boy’s condition as “critical” and said the girl is “seriously ill”.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “Our hearts go out to the people involved and their family.”
SDLP Councillor Pat Catney described what happened as a “freak tragic accident” that had left the local community stunned.
UUP Councillor Brian Bloomfield said he was shocked to learn of the incident but that he had noticed the heavy rain, flashes of lightning and thunder in the city throughout the afternoon.
“I am concerned and hope they make a full recovery,” he said.
“It is very unusual for people to be struck by lightning.
“Obvious it is very, very frightening.
“For this to happen to school children is all the more concerning.”
The principal of Killowen Primary School Fiona Douglas said: “I can confirm that a parent and two children were injured outside the school’s main gate this afternoon.
“School staff and parents attended to the injured family until the arrival of the emergency services.
“Following this all other pupils, accompanied by staff, went safely to nearby Laurel Hill Community College where they were collected by parents.
“The thoughts of the entire school community are with the family at this time.”
Storm
Monday night's thunder and lightning storm has been described as one of "the worst lightning storms in recent years" by ESB Networks.
Using the hashtag #staysafe, ESB re-tweeted an image on Tuesday afternoon from meteorologist and photographer Ian Carruters of the “7,500 lightning strikes” that hit Ireland and the UK over the past 24 hours.
More than 1,000 homes and businesses were left without power morning following Monday night’s thunder and lightning.
ESB crews are working to restore power to parts of Co Cavan, Co Monaghan, Co Cork, Co Wexford, Co Westmeath, Co Donegal, Co Cork, Co Longford, Co Galway and South Dublin.
Power is due to be restored to all affected areas by Tuesday evening, according to ESB Networks.
At the height of the storms on Monday there were over 6,000 customers without power.
While Monday’s storms have subsided, the warm weather is set to continue until the weekend with temperatures reaching 25 degrees midweek.
Wednesday will be very warm with temperatures reaching 25 degrees, but scattered showers will develop in the afternoon. The humid weather will continue into Thursday with temperatures slightly falling leading to fresher temperatures on Friday.
John Eagleton of Met Éireann told The Irish Times that the unseasonably warm and sunny weather experienced across Ireland is due to continue until next weekend when normal service looks set to resume.
The forecaster said after Wednesday temperatures would most likely start to fall and by the weekend they should return to the typical range for this time of year of between 16 and 18 degrees.
Additional reporting from PA
