Lightning Kills 1, Injures 2 on Florida Beach
Storm was so severe, emergency workers feared approaching victims.
— -- A lightning strike on a Florida beach this afternoon killed one person and left two others injured.
The three people were hit at around 2:10 p.m., while they were walking on the beach a short distance from the Lani Kai resort in Fort Myers Beach.
The strike, which was part of a storm so fierce that emergency workers were reportedly hesitant to go out on the beach when they arrived, horrified onlookers.
"The blood was rolling, just floating down to the water's edge and the water was turning red right there. It was really terrible," witness Robert Gustafson told ABC affiliate WZVN-TV in Fort Myers.
"I'm shaken up. Three people hit by lightning ... at the same time, that's -- that's terrible," Alice Lynch told WZVN-TV.
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Emergency workers performed CPR on a young man who was hit, and he was unconscious when he was taken was taken from the scene, according to reports.
A teenage girl who was also hit was reportedly conscious when she was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Lee County Sheriff's officials have not yet identified the three victims, but according to WZVN-TV they were all from Lehigh Acres.
According to the National Weather Service, before today there had already been 14 lightning strike deaths nationwide this year, including five previous deaths in Florida.