- Two people were struck by lightning and killed on a beach in Michoacán, Mexico on Monday
- Video footage showed the woman walking away from the water when she was struck by lightning moments before the man was also struck
- The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was taken to 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.
A man and a woman could be seen on video walking on the sands of Maruata Beach when they were struck by lightning on Monday afternoon.
The victim appeared to have stepped out of the water when he was struck by lightning. The man was then shocked within a second.
The electric shock sent the beach worker and other swimmers running for their safety.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Aquila Mayor José Valencia revealed that the woman was a resident of the central state of Guanajuato. He also said the man selling hammocks on the beach was staying in the nearby state of Colima.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 40 million lightning strikes strike the ground in the United States each year.
Although the chance of being struck by lightning each year is less than one in a million, nearly 90 percent of victims survive.
The chance of a person getting hit multiple times is much less if it happens seven times in a lifetime.
National Weather Service data show that 11 people were killed by lightning strikes in the United States in 2023, including two people in separate boating and swimming accidents.
By comparison, 19 people died in the strike last year, up from 11 in 2021.
The Federal Weather Service says there are five ways to lighting can hit people.
A direct hit occurs in open spaces. Although not considered the most common, it can be the deadliest.
“In most direct strikes, some of the current travels along and just above the surface of the skin (called flashover) and some of the current travels through the body — usually the cardiovascular and/or nervous system,” the National Weather Service said. explains.
A person can also receive lightning shock from a side flash. Lightning tends to strike an object that is taller than the victim – such as a tree – and parts of the current are transferred from the object to the victim.
