Lightning struck one person with moderate injuries and others with minor injuries when struck by lightning at Clam Pass Beach, Naples, Florida.
According to eyewitnesses, the lightning strike occurred at about 6 pm on Monday. The first rescuers arrived at Clam Pass State Park in Naples.
An employee of a nearby hotel said he was carrying a chair cushion to keep out of the impending thunderstorm when lightning struck so close that his hat flew off and he fell to the sand.
Monday's lightning strike is three separate incidents of lightning striking people in the past ten days.
In mid-July, a 17-year-old girl from Macon, Georgia was struck by lightning on Marco Island.
Husband and wife were struck by lightning on Saturday at Sanibel Beach Club. According to eyewitnesses, before the arrival of the ambulance crew, other vacationers rushed to give the man artificial respiration. Their condition is currently unknown.
Clark Ryals is a senior forester in the Florida Forester Service. Lightning must be taken seriously at this time of year, he says, or similar incidents could continue to occur.
"You sit here and you think your chances are very small, like winning the lottery, but in fact it is very deadly. Especially when you are on the beach," Ryals said.
According to him, lightning is looking for the tallest objects to strike, and it could be you if you stay on the beach for too long.
"If you hear thunder, then you are definitely in the lightning strike zone," Ryals said. "You can get into a peaceful state of being living here for years and not worrying too much about it, and then suddenly it becomes a big problem."
Ryals said that if you find yourself on a beach and have nowhere to go when storms are coming, snuggle as close to the sand as possible.
"You can go as low as possible on the sand to reduce your visibility during thunderstorms," Ryals said.
