5 people hurt, 1 critically, as lightning strikes beach in southern Israel
All the injured are members of same family from Be'er Sheva; 21-year-old woman in serious condition, three others aged 24, 17 and 13 also suffered moderate injuries in incident on Zikim beach near Ashkelon
Five members of the same family were injured on Tuesday when a lightning struck a beach in southern Israel. One of the victims, a 14-year-old boy, is in critical condition.
The incident occurred at Zikim Beach near the southern city of Ashkelon.
The victims were later named as members of the Hazut family from Be'er Sheva, who had been enjoying the Sukkot break at the beach when the lightning struck.
A 21-year-old woman was also seriously hurt in the strike, and three other family members aged 24, 17 and 13 suffered moderate injuries.
The injured were evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
"There were two unconscious young people on the beach, and one who was drifting in and out of consciousness," said Magen David Asom paramedic Keren Slobodnik, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene.
She said one of the two had been resuscitated, with the second victim remaining unconscious.
"It started raining and we wanted to fold our belongings,” said one eyewitness. “Suddenly out of nowhere there was a very strong lightning strike.
"I saw a guy waving at the beach, so I ran to see what was going on and saw people lying on the ground. One woman was unconscious, and one man was unconscious. His pants were half torn and one of his legs was paralyzed.”
Israeli beaches have been crowded in recent days as many Israelis have time off work due to the week-long holiday of Sukkot. The holiday has been coupled with an unstable weather as thunderstorms and rain showers have been accompanied by extreme heat due to a rare "atmospheric phenomenon."
"In the coming hours and well into the night there is a great chance of lightning and thunderstorms,” said Meteo-Tech’s meteorologist Tzahi Wachsman.
“But in the next few hours more rain clouds will appear so the chance of thunderstorms is high. "
