Lightning damages church bell tower on island of Brač, debris hits cars and roofs

Thunderstorms, rain and lighting hit parts of Croatia in the early hours on Sunday, causing damage on the island of Brač.

Lightning hit the Christ the King parish church in Selca on the island of Brač, causing large stones to break and fall from the church’s bell tower damaging nearby roofs and cars on the street. 

“Early in the morning around five o’clock, a strong thunderstorm hit the area of Selca. Lightning struck the Christ the King parish church and damaged the church, nearby roofs of family houses and personal cars at the foot of the church. Selca DVD firefighters have been on the ground since the morning, repairing the consequences of the lightning strike and determining the extent of the damage,” the Selca Fire Department said on its Facebook page.

They added that six firefighters and two vehicles intervened, and by the afternoon they had repaired the area on the roofs and the road where debris had broken off from the bell tower after the impact.

A local resident was also devastated after finding out that lighting had wrecked havoc by striking his herd of 47 sheep with just 5 surviving.  

“It has completely killed me. I am in shock. Neither my wife nor I have a pension. Now I am left with nothing. I am no longer able to talk. It is difficult for me,” 64-year-old Zoran Trutanić told daily Slobodna Dalmacija.