Teenage hiker killed, many  injured in lightning strikes across Germany

Admin I Monday, July 22, 2024

 

ZUGSPITZE  – An 18-year-old man has died  in Zugspitze  when he was hit by lightning on Germany’s highest mountain, as severe storms left several others injured across the country.

According to police reports, the young man from the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia had travelled to the Zugspitze in southern Germany with two other men.

On Sunday, the group walked to the summit, located 80 metres from the mountain’s cable-car station, but were hit by a number of lightning strikes on their return.

The 18-year-old was fatally injured. His companions were cared for by the crisis intervention service, several media outlets reported.

The storm complicated rescue efforts. A rescue helicopter was unable to fly due to the conditions and the Zugspitze railway was also out of operation.

The recovery could only proceed with delays due to repeated lightning strikes in the area.

Meanwhile, a family of six was also injured by a lightning strike in a park in the northern German city of Delmenhorst to the west of Bremen on Sunday.

Two of the injured are in a critical condition, a police spokeswoman said.

The family – one adult and five children – had been sitting under a tree in the city’s Graftwiesen Park when it was struck by lightning in the afternoon.

During the rescue operation, a child and a teenager were resuscitated. All six family members were taken to hospital.