The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

EIGHT students and a teacher were taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital yesterday after lightning struck the Bishop Michael Eldon School.

Lightning hit a tree on the school campus shortly after 9am, travelled underground and hit a concrete pavement where several students were standing.

Emergency Medical Services initially transported four students who were injured by flying debris. Small rocks were embedded under a student’s skin, according to school administrator Tiffany Sweeting-Smith.

Four more students were later taken to hospital for evaluations of eye, ear, and chest issues.

Samantha Rahming, a parent, said the ordeal was frightening.

“My son has a lot of lacerations because debris hit him, and his shirt was bloodied,” she told The Tribune at the hospital. 

“You hear about lightning and how people don’t survive. It could have been worse. This was actually his morning to pray in the car. It shows how important it is to pray.” 

“The weather was bad, and I really don’t think the children should have been in school, national exam or not.”

Mrs Sweeting-Smith said students were changing classes, and a group from the 10th-grade were near to where lightning hit the tree.

“The students were struck by bits of rock, rubble, or debris,” she said.

“Two students were injured, and two other students standing nearby said they felt the impact or burst of energy from the lightning. The four of them were brought in by ambulance. In addition, four other students went to the Emergency Department because the thunder had impacted their hearing due to their proximity to the lightning strike.”

Mrs Sweeting-Smith said the bright flash affected another student’s vision.

She said doctors were also evaluating a teacher for numbness in her arm.

“Everyone is in good spirits and thank God for keeping them safe, as things could have been worse,” said Ms Smith, adding that she had never experienced anything like this in her 16 years at the school.

The weather also disrupted the school’s phone and Wi-Fi services.

School principal Cynthia Wells said classes were dismissed after the incident, but some students stayed to complete their national examinations.

Claire Fox received a call about her injured grandson and rushed to the school.

“I was at home when I received a call that Bishop Michael Eldon School had been struck by lightning and that my grandson was affected by the sound of the lightning. It was so loud that his ear was ringing and hurting, and he started experiencing chest pain. They said, you need to come now and take him to the hospital.”   

Severe weather conditions in Grand Bahama also caused widespread flooding and delayed flight operations at the airport.