One particular person was killed and three others had been injured when a gaggle of Florida beachgoers was struck by lightning on Friday afternoon — with witnesses describing the terrifying second as sounding like “an atomic bomb went off.”
The summer time revelers had been zapped whereas swimming within the Gulf at Fort Myers Seashore round 3 p.m., WINK Information reported.
One swimmer, an unidentified man, was struck instantly and died. Three different swimmers, who had been wading within the ocean close to the strike, had been injured and rushed to a close-by hospital, in line with Fort Myers Seashore Hearth Management District Chief Scott Wirth.
The situations of the injured beachgoers weren’t instantly identified.
“Hastily, it seemed like an atomic bomb went off,” beachgoer Debra Crombie instructed WINK Information
“I may see the flash, and I couldn’t see at that second the place it had hit, however I knew it had hit both on the seaside or proper on the shoreline,” she continued.
“It was so shiny our ears harm, our eyes had been blinded by it, like that’s how intense this was.”
Crombie, who was on her annual trip to Fort Myers, Fla., along with her household when the tragedy struck, mentioned certainly one of her relations noticed the lightning strike the water earlier than it “cut up in two.”
“And so at that time, we noticed youngsters operating off the seaside again to our resort they usually had been screaming and I’m like, oh boy, I wager someone acquired hit,” she mentioned.
The person who was instantly struck was pulled from the water and CPR measures had been tried, however he had died by the point emergency responders arrived on the scene, the outlet reported.
Crombie believes the tragic beachgoer was staying at her resort together with his household.
“We noticed his youngster earlier within the day, and everybody was crying on and off, and I simply can’t cease excited about this household, and my coronary heart simply breaks for them,” she mentioned.
“It was purported to be this stunning expertise on stunning Fort Myers Seashore and now it’s not.”
The vacationer mentioned that whereas the stretch of Fort Myers Seashore that was hit isn’t crowded, there have been “a substantial variety of folks” from out of city who might not have been conscious of the dangers of swimming throughout thunderstorms.
“It makes you suppose these folks can’t be from Florida. They don’t perceive how lethal the lightning is,” she mentioned.
“I’m not judging them however…we had been taking a look at it like why are the children on the seaside?”
Thunderstorms are additionally predicted to hit elements of the East Coast all through the Fourth of July weekend — as a “warmth dome” has been engulfing a lot of the nation.
Officers are warning beachgoers concerning the potential security dangers concerned.
“We urge all residents, guests, and beachgoers to watch the climate previous to going outdoors. In the event you observe lightning within the quick space: keep out of the water, search quick shelter, and keep away from free or tall objects that might pose a danger or damage,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Workplace wrote on X.
The Publish has reached out to the Lee County Sheriff’s Workplace.
