Several injured in lightning strike at Swedish amusement park

STOCKHOLM – Several people were injured, including one seriously, when lightning struck a tree at an amusement park in southern Sweden on June 28, the park and officials said.

“Today we had a severe thunderstorm over Tosselilla, which led to several lightning strikes directly in the area. This has resulted in a few people being injured,” the Tosselilla Sommarland park said in a post on Facebook.

It initially said there were no serious injuries, but local health officials later said a 45-year-old woman was in hospital with “serious injuries”.

Two others were taken to hospital by ambulance, while two adults and five children were seeking treatment.

“All with minor injuries,” regional health authority Region Skane said in a statement.

Public broadcaster SVT reported that the amusement park had anticipated the storm and made sure no visitors were on the rides or in the waterpark pools.

However, lightning struck a tree on the site, and a group passing nearby was hit by falling debris.

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued warnings on June 28 for large parts of southern Sweden as thunderstorms and heavy rain swept across the region. AFP