Brian Hamacher

One Man Killed, Another Injured in Lightning Strike in Pembroke Pines

Men rushed to hospital after lightning strike at construction site

One man was killed and another injured in a lightning strike at a construction site in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The strike happened in the area of 103rd Avenue and Pines Boulevard, while the men were working on the new Pines City Center, according to the Pembroke Pines police.

The man who died was unconscious when rescue workers arrived, fire rescue officials said.

He had major burns to his chest and what officials described as entry and exit wounds, consistent with a direct lightning strike, Pines Fire Rescue Chief Ruben Troncoso said.

"When the lightning strikes, it goes through the body and out another point in the body," Troncoso added.

That victim was transported under cardiac arrest to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he later died, officials said.

The other worker was hospitalized in stable condition. Their names haven't been released.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two construction workers involved in today's unfortunate accident," Tadd Schwartz, a spokesman for Pines City Center, said in a statement. "The matter is being reviewed by the proper authorities and the contractor on-site is cooperating in that process."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded two lightning deaths so far in 2017, one of which happened in Florida on May 17. The other happened in Colorado on May 7.

The odds of a person being struck by lightning in his or her lifetime is about 1–13,500, according to the NOAA.

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