A BEACHGOER has been killed and three others have been left injured by a lightning strike – with one witness saying it sounded “like an atomic bomb”.
The swimmers were zapped in front of terrified summer revellers while taking a dip at Fort Myers Beach in Florida on Friday afternoon.
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Three people were also injured in the strike Credit: Winknews
Lightning struck and killed a man at Fort Myers Beach (stock) Credit: Getty Images
One beachgoer was struck directly by the bolt and pronounced dead at the scene.
The other three wounded swimmers were raced to a nearby hospital, according to local authorities.
The injured victims had been wading in the water when the astonishing lightning strike came down.
The trio appear to be “in stable condition”, Lee County cops told the New York Post.
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Bystander Debra Crombie told WINK News: “All of a sudden, it sounded like an atomic bomb went off.
“I could see the flash, and I couldn’t see at that moment where it had hit, but I knew it had hit either on the beach or right at the shoreline.”
She added: “It was so bright our ears hurt, our eyes were blinded by it, like that’s how intense this was.”
The witness was on her annual vacation to Fort Myers with her family when the tragedy occurred.
She added that one of her relatives saw the deadly lightning strike hit the water.
It came crashing down before it “split in two”, she said.
The witness continued: “And so at that point, we saw kids running off the beach back to our resort and they were screaming and I’m like, oh boy, I bet somebody got hit.”
The man who died was pulled from the water right after being hit by the bolt.
CPR measures were attempted, but despite the efforts of bystanders, he was pronounced dead when emergency services arrived.
Crombie said the tragic swimmer was staying at the same resort she had been at with his family.
“We saw his child earlier in the day, and everyone was crying on and off, and I just can’t stop thinking about this family, and my heart just breaks for them,” she said.
“It was supposed to be this beautiful experience on beautiful Fort Myers Beach and now it’s not.”
Police said the deceased man was with others travelling to another city in Florida, but stopped on the way to cool off at the beach.
Crombie added that there were a “considerable number of people” from out of town at the beach who may not have been aware of the risks of swimming during storms.
