VIDEO. The beach was crowded with people: Lightning strikes an Italian beach, injuring several people

La foudre a touché une plage en Italie. (illustration) MAXPPP – Media Drum World

Ce samedi 3 août 2024, la foudre s’est abattue sur plage en Italie, qui était bondée de monde. Plusieurs personnes ont été touchées.

At least three people were injured Saturday, one seriously, when lightning struck a crowded beach on Italy's Adriatic coast, media reported.

Several people affected

The lightning struck a beach near Alba Adriatica in the central-eastern Abruzzo region just after noon, according to media reports, which put the number of people affected at between three and seven.

Photos posted on social media show rescuers crowding around what appears to be a woman on a stretcher on the beach. According to Italian news agency ANSA, the most seriously injured person is a woman who suffered a heart attack, was resuscitated at the scene and then taken to hospital.

Another injured person, a Belgian tourist, had temporarily lost all feeling in the legs, according to the same source. Local authorities could not immediately be reached by AFP. The civil protection department warned Saturday of unstable weather conditions in central Italy, with scattered thunderstorms and “frequent electrical activity”.