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UPDATE: 8-year-old hit by lightning passes away; other boy recovering

One of the boys struck by lightning Thursday night passed away late Saturday morning, said Ghassan Hammoudeh, the father of the other boy who was struck.
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SAN ANTONIO -- One of the boys struck by lightning Thursday night passed away late Saturday morning, said Ghassan Hammoudeh, the father of the other boy who was struck.

Mohammad al-Qarqaz, 8, was struck in the chest and was taken off life support just before noon, Hammoudeh said.

Zaid Hammoudeh, 10, is still in the hospital, Hammoudeh said.

An uncle told KENS 5 the boys were playing in a backyard around 8 p.m. Thursday when they were struck. The incident happened in the 4700 block of Barons Ridge Drive.

The 10-year-old boy, who was struck at hip-level, was able to talk and was recovering 'nicely,' the uncle said Friday.

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said one of the boys was not breathing when emergency officials initially took the call.

In my seven years of being here, I can't remember a lightning strike, a multiple strike, or a strike involving a child, Hood said.

A nearby neighbor said the lightning strike was so loud that it made her jump out of her chair.

The moms and the ladies were coming out of their houses, and I went to my backyard, and it was right there on my fence line, Anna Diaz said.

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