Three children did what they always did… go out to play in the rain. Only on the fatal Friday afternoon of 1 August 2025, the downpour came with a deadly strike of lightning. The children were playing in a baseball field in the Palavé area of Manoguayabo, Santo Domingo West.
The tragic incident has left the entire community in shock.
Gregory Alejandro Ascencio, a witness, recounted what happened for Diario Libre. He explained that a sudden lightning strike turned a moment of joy into tragedy on that Friday afternoon in the Palavé sector of Manoguayabo, a township in the northwest of Santo Domingo province. Three children were struck while playing in the rain. Two of them died instantly, while a third remains hospitalized.
“I was standing at my window when I saw the lightning bolt hit,” he told Diario Libre, visibly shaken. “One of the boys died on the spot. Another was thrown back by the force. The third was still moving—I ran to help him. I saw him opening and closing his mouth. I did everything I could to save him… but he died in my arms.”
The children, aged between 12 and 14, had been enjoying the rainfall, a common pastime in the neighborhood.
“When it rains here, everyone comes out to enjoy it—not just the kids, adults too,” said Ascencio.
The surviving boy, 13, is currently being treated at Vinicio Calventi Hospital in Los Alcarrizos. His condition has not been publicly disclosed.
According to Ascencio, all three children were well-known and loved in the community. “They were good kids — disciplined, respectful, and passionate about sports, especially baseball,” he said.
The incident has cast a shadow over the close-knit community. “This is very painful for all of us. May God give strength to the families,” Ascencio told Diario Libre. “Sometimes we have to accept God’s will, even if we don’t understand it.”
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
El Dia
4 August 2025