- Two people were struck by lightning and killed on a beach in Michoacán, Mexico on Monday
- Video footage showed a woman walking away from the water when she was hit by a flash of light moments before the man was also hit
- The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was taken to hospital, where he died
A hammock seller and a female holidaymaker were killed after they were struck by lightning on a beach in the western Mexican state of Michoacán.
The man and woman could be seen in a video walking on the sand at Maruata Beach when the bolt hit them on Monday afternoon.
The female victim appeared to have walked out of the water when she was struck by the lightning. The man was then shocked within a second.
The electric shock sent a beach worker and other swimmers running for their safety.
The female 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 lived 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 chances of being struck by lightning each year are less than one in a million, close to 90 percent of victims survive.
The chances of a person being beaten multiple times are far less as it happens seven times in a lifetime.
National Weather Service data shows that in 2023, 11 people have been killed by lightning in the United States, including two people in separate boating and swimming incidents.
In comparison, 19 people died after being hit last year, up from 11 in 2021.
The federal weather agency says there are five ways lighting can hit people.
A direct strike occurs in open areas. Although not considered the most common, it can be the most deadly.
“In most direct strikes, a portion of the current travels along and just above the skin surface (called flashover), and a portion of the current travels through the body—usually through the cardiovascular and/or nervous system,” the National Weather Service explains.
A person can also receive a shock from a bolt of light from a side flash. Lightning tends to strike an object that is taller than a victim—for example, a tree—and parts of the current are transferred from the object to the victim.
