A dancing tourist had a miraculous escape after he was struck by lightning while dancing.
Cameras caught the moment Russian Pavel Smirnov, 32, was struck as he danced on a pier in Georgian resort Batumi.
As he fell to the ground, he said he was certain he was dying.
Pavel explained: ‘The first thing I saw was a tunnel of light. You’re dancing, and a second after you are dying.
‘Everything is burning as if you’re in Hell, it’s hard to breathe, your legs and arms don’t work. I thought I’d hold on a little longer and either suffocate or burn to death. It seemed like my insides and body were on fire.’
He was on holiday with his brother and a friend who were unharmed when the thunderbolt hit.
Once Pavel regained consciousness, he said he was convinced he had been left disabled.
His brother put out the flames on his burning T-shirt and his friends called an ambulance as soon as he fell to the ground.
’Then I heard from the guys that it was lightning. I began to understand what had happened, but it felt like I was about to die,’ Pavel said. ‘I had a complete loss of sensation in all my limbs, both legs were uncontrollable.
‘Only one arm moved normally. I felt pain from burns everywhere. Pain in my intestines, inside the legs, all over the skin – everywhere. It was very difficult to breathe, it seemed like I couldn’t catch my breath.
’My thoughts were: ‘****, well, it seems like death is normal, it’s a shame it all ended so quickly.’
Pavel’s sneakers were ‘torn to pieces’ and his skin was badly burned. He also said his shorts looked like they were shot with a gun.
Despite this, he was not seriously wounded, according to doctors.
The tourist has been kept in hospital for observation, but is expected to be allowed home in several days.
Doctors told him it was ‘miraculous’ he was not killed or seriously injured.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
