Lightning strikes Florida beach-goer who suffers heart attack while seven others including tourists are injured
A LIGHTNING bolt struck a beach-goer who suffered a heart attack in Florida on Sunday – while seven others including tourists were injured.
The unnamed man, in his 40s, was “directly hit by lightning” at the packed Clearwater Beach near Tampa, officials said.
He went inter cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, Clearwater city spokesperson Joelle Castelli told Fox News.
Seven others were injured in the freak strike – including three employees of a jet ski rental company and two foreign tourists.
Details of where the tourists were from were not immediately clear.
Three people hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries while another beach-goer was treated at a Tampa hospital for burns.
Three other patients suffered minor injuries and declined hospital treatment.
LIFEGUARDS LEFT TOWERS
All had been in a beach area behind a seafood restaurant called Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill at around 12:45pm local time (5:45pm BST).
Clearwater beach lifeguards had all left their towers “due to bad weather” just 15 minutes earlier, Castelli added.
Beach-goers are advised to take cover in a safe place when there’s a risk of a lightning storm, the spokesperson said.
It was one of those bad Florida storms. It came and now it’s gone sunny and clear out. As dangerous as they are, they’re also pretty spectacular
Lt. Michael Ogliaruso
Lt. Michael Ogliaruso, of Clearwater Police Department, added: “It was one of those bad Florida storms.
“It came and now it’s gone sunny and clear out. As dangerous as they are, they’re also pretty spectacular.”
It comes amid an intense heatwave currently sweeping large swathes of the US.
Daytime highs reached 38C in the eastern parts of the States – but high humidity meant temperatures felt as hot as 43C.
Multiple events were cancelled – including a commemoration of the 1969 moon landing planned for New York’s Times Square on Sunday.
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In Pennsylvania, nine firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and six transported to a hospital for treatment while fighting a house fire on Saturday.
In New Hampshire, rescue crews helped a 29-year-old hiker on Saturday after he was overcome by the heat in the White Mountain National Forest.
In New Jersey, the Oceanic Bridge over the Navesink River was closed Saturday evening after it got stuck open.
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