Horrifying moment: Hammock seller and vacationer are killed after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on a Mexican beach
Horrifying moment: Hammock seller and vacationer are killed after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on a Mexican beach
- On Monday, two people were struck and killed by lightning on a beach in Michoacán, Mexico
- Video footage showed a woman walking away from the water when she was struck by lightning, shortly before the man was also struck
- The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was taken to a hospital where he died
A hammock seller and a vacationer were killed after they were struck by lightning on a beach in the western Mexican state of Michoacán.
The man and woman were seen in a video walking along the sands of Maruata Beach on Monday afternoon when the bolt hit them.
The female victim appeared to have walked out of the water when she was struck by lightning. The man was then shocked within a second.
The impact of the electrocution sent a beach worker and other swimmers running to safety.
A woman and a man (circled) were seen walking on a beach in Michoacán, Mexico, on Monday when they were struck and killed by lightning
A merchant (circled) is seen walking on a beach in Mexico when lightning struck and killed a woman a few meters away from him, shortly before he too suffered shock and later died in a hospital
The female victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was taken to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
The mayor of Aquila, José Valencia, announced that the woman was from the central state of Guanajuato. He also said the man selling hammocks on the beach lived in nearby Colima state.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 40 million lightning strikes in the United States each year.
Although the chance of being struck by lightning each year is less than one in a million, almost 90 percent of victims survive.
The chances of a person being hit multiple times are much lower, as this only happens seven times in a lifetime.
Data from the National Weather Service shows that 11 people were killed by lightning strikes in the United States in 2023, including two people in separate boating and swimming accidents.
In comparison, 19 people died after the attack last year, an increase from 11 in 2021.
Beachgoers seek shelter on a beach in Michoacán, Mexico, Monday after two people were struck by lightning. One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene and the other died at a local hospital
On Monday, two people were struck and killed by lightning on a beach in Aquila, a city off the Pacific coast in the Mexican state of Michoacán
The Federal Weather Authority says there are five ways to do this Light can affect people.
A direct attack takes place in open areas. Although it is not considered the most common, it can be the deadliest.
“In most direct impacts, some of the current travels along and just above the surface of the skin (called a flashover), and some of the current travels through the body – usually through the cardiovascular and/or nervous systems,” according to the National Weather Service explained.
A person can also receive a lightning strike from a side lightning bolt. Lightning typically strikes an object that is taller than the victim – a tree, for example – and some of the electricity is transferred from the object to the victim.