Teenagers struck by lightning: 14-year-old suffers cardiac arrest

©Toomas Tartes via Unsplash

On Monday, two teenagers were struck by lightning in the French Pyrenees during a mountain hike near Cauterets, in the Hautes-Pyrénées. A 14-year-old boy suffered cardiac arrest. He and a 21-year-old man were transported to the hospital in Tarbes by helicopter.

The group, consisting of about ten to fifteen people, was caught in a thunderstorm around 3:30 p.m. on a section of the GR10 trail at an altitude of approximately 2,700 meters. According to rescue services, the hikers were struck directly by lightning. The condition of the two victims was initially critical, and according to French media, their lives were still in danger.

The Tarbes public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the incident. That investigation has been entrusted to the high-mountain gendarmerie, the PGHM of Pierrefitte-Nestalas, which also carried out the evacuation. Emergency responders took advantage of a brief break in the weather to quickly stabilize the injured and transport them to the hospital. The 14-year-old boy underwent CPR after being struck by lightning, while the 21-year-old was also admitted to the hospital for further care and observation.

Unexpected thunderstorms are not uncommon in high mountains

Lightning strikes during mountain hikes remain rare, but they can have particularly severe consequences. French reports indicate that the risk increases significantly when hikers are unexpectedly caught in a rapidly approaching thunderstorm in open terrain or at high altitudes. In this case, the victims were on a heavily traveled hiking trail, but in an area where the weather can change suddenly. This tragic incident serves as a reminder of the basic rules for thunderstorms in the mountains: follow weather reports, avoid open terrain, and seek shelter as quickly as possible during a lightning storm. In mountainous areas, rescue services also recommend not hiking alone and keeping a safe distance from one another if a group cannot reach a safe shelter.

©Toomas Tartes via Unsplash - Illustrative image.