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A minimum of one fatality and 13 injuries have resulted from a lightning strike at an archery venue.
The lightning incident affected individuals among a group of Boy Scouts.
Authorities in New Jersey disclosed that the ages of the victims ranged from seven to 61 following the strike on Wednesday.
An instructor at the Black Knight Bowbenders range in Jackson Township, was killed, as per the New York Post.
Gene Grodzki, a fellow instructor, identified the man who died as Robert Montgomery, as reported by the CBS affiliate WCBS-TV.
Montgomery worked at the archery club for several years and Grodzki described him as a great man.
Eight injured children were part of the Boy Scout organization.
Some of the victims who were injured suffered burn injuries, while one lost temporarily lost consciousness.
Others said they started to feel unwell.
The lightning strike happened as storms were passing through the Jackson County area.
Grodzki said the bolt hit a tree, which prompted dirt to fly into the air.
Then, a man, who Grodzki said weighed around 240 pounds, was thrown up against the tree, as reported by the ABC affiliate WPVI-TV.
The odds of being struck by lightning are around one in 1.22 million.
Health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say around 90% of people struck by lightning survive.
Men are four times more likely to be struck by lightning than women.
What causes lightning?
Here’s everything you need to know…
- Lightning is a big flash or bolt of electricity caused by a thunderstorm.
- Strikes are actually formed by frozen raindrops in the sky.
- Within a thunderclap, bits of ice bump into one another, forming an electrical charge.
- After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges.
- These split into negatively charged electrons at the bottom of the cloud and positively charged protons at the top.
- Eventually, the cloud discharges by sending a bolt of current to the ground.
Last month, newlywed Jake Rosencranz was struck by lightning while standing in the sea while at New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
He was rushed to the intensive care unit at a local hospital but died of his injuries.
The most lightning deaths have been reported in states such as Florida, Texas, Georgia and Alabama.
And, between 2006 and 2021, the most lightning deaths happened in July, according to National Weather Service data.
But, people can be struck by lightning while indoors.
Lisa Henderson, who lives in Alabama, received an electrical shock when she was using her phone in bed.
A bolt surged to her charger via an extension cord.
