Multiple holidaymakers struck by lightning on Florida beach with one critically injured

A beachgoer was taken to hospital in a critical condition after ‘multiple people’ were struck by lightning.

Firefighters said that three patients were treated and evacuated from the area after the strike at St Augustine Pier in northeastern Florida.

Swimmers and surfers ran over the sand to their cars in a panic after the bright flash when a sudden storm rolled in on July 12, reports said.

One witness, who gave his name only as Jamar, told WJXT he was on the beach with family for a retirement celebration.

‘All of a sudden in the corner of my eye, I see a big flash, two seconds later I hear this boom and now my ears are ringing,’ he said.

‘I’m confused on what just happened. I’m over here scared, shocked, I don’t even know.’

Another witness, Tristin Whetstinem said: ‘It really brings me to Earth too, perspective.

‘We are just out here feeling nature when nature strikes. We’re trying to take advantage of the life we live and then its BOOM.’

St Johns County Fire and Rescue said in a Facebook post that they took two patients to hospital, one badly hurt and one with minor injuries. Another patient who had been hit refused to go to hospital and made their own way home.

They warned people to ‘avoid the pier while emergency operations are underway — and remember, when thunder roars, go indoors’.

Video of the beach during the strike appears to show a flash or glitch before people on the sand close to the pier fall down, as others run and birds can be seen flying away.

The pier was shut down for the rest of the day, with a black sack wrapped around an area damaged with splintered wood, but it was expected to reopen by Monday.

Anyone struck by lightning should ideally be checked over in hospital, even if they feel okay, as the strike can throw off heart rhythm as well as cause burns.

First Coast News reported that the person seriously injured was still alive by the time they reached hospital, but an update on their current condition was not available.

St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell urged any locals and visitors to take weather conditions seriously, telling News4Jax: ‘The perfect world, you’d have all the signs and signals out there that you can, but at the end of the day, people still need to take caution when you see clouds rolling in summertime.

‘This is when most of this happens…You just gotta be careful…You see the storms rolling in [and] you hear the thunder, seek shelter.’

The US National Weather Service says there have been 20 fatalities from lightning strikes each year over the last ten years.

So far in 2025, there have been six deaths which happened in North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Florida and Oklahoma.

Florida is the US state with the most lightning strikes by area, sometimes referred to as the ‘lightning capital’ of the US.

To reduce the risk from lightning in a storm, you should move away from high ground as soon as possible incuding hills and mountains, as well as from bodies of water and anything which conducts electricity.

The National Weather Service said people should never lie down, hide under an isolated tree, or use a rocky overhang for shelter.

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