Lightning Kills Two, Injures Two as Squall Hits Florida Beach

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. —  A sudden thundersquall swept out of the Gulf of Mexico Monday, killing two beachgoers, injuring two others and sending hundreds of screaming people scrambling for cover, authorities said.

A 17-year-old girl went into shock when she saw lightning strike the two men, Lee County Sheriff’s Maj. John McDougall said.

“The beach was in chaos,” he said. “Several hundred people were there when a sudden squall came into the Gulf. The lightning bolts hit the beach and people started screaming and scrambling.”

All the victims were within a few feet of each other.

Girl, Woman Struck

A 4-year-old girl and a woman were also struck but apparently escaped serious injury because lightning did not hit them directly, McDougall said.

He said a deputy on the beach described the sound when the lightning struck as being like “somebody discharging a shotgun. He looked up and saw an orangish-yellow bolt of thick bright light.”

One of the men took a direct hit on the head, Fire Chief John McCarthy said.

Florida leads the nation in the number of deaths from lightning.