BRISBANE – Thirteen primary school pupils and two teachers have been taken to hospital after lightning struck a sports field in Australia’s east coast today.
The children, aged between 10 and 12, were playing on the field at their school in Queensland when the bolt struck nearby, said a spokesman for the local ambulance service.
The group was treated for numbness in the legs and “mild tingling”, with one teacher complaining of chest pains, Greg Christensen told AFP.
“It is believed that lightning came down between two trees on the oval where the kids were playing.”
The children “were pretty wound up” after the incident, but there were no signs of physical injury, he said.
“It could have turned out very differently... with burns and other injuries, but luckily, we had none of that there today.”
The group was taken to hospital for observation. – AFP, December 8, 2020