Man dies after being struck by lightning on Germany's highest peak
Snow covers the Schneeferner glacier near the top of Germany's highest mountain 'Zugspitze' (2962 meters) near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. A man has died after being hit by lightning near the summit of Germany's highest peak, police said Monday, July 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Matthias Schrader
BERLIN — A man died after being struck by lightning near the summit of Germany's highest peak, police said Monday.
The 18-year-old German resident was one of a group of three young men who took the mountain railway up the Zugspitze late Sunday afternoon and then continued to the summit, which is a climb of about 80 meters (260 feet) from a terrace used by many visitors.
Lightning struck repeatedly as the men descended from the summit and the 18-year-old suffered a fatal electric shock, police said. Recovery efforts were complicated by the ongoing storm.
The Zugspitze sits at 2,962 meters (9,718 feet) above sea level and is located in the Alps on Germany's border with Austria.
Several parts of Germany were hit by storms on Sunday. In Delmenhorst, in the north of the country, a family of eight had taken shelter under a tree in a park when lightning struck. All eight were hurt, and a five-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were taken to hospitals with life-threatening injuries.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
