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Given the astronomical odds, you have to be pretty unlucky to be struck by lightning during a storm. But, singular strikes apart, you really have to feel for a distinctly unlucky group of teenagers in the UK that were subjected to a collective strike last week.
Six teens struck by lightning during cricket match. Image: kcdsTM/Flickr.
According to an ITN report, a group of six teens enjoying a late summer afternoon in Small Heath Park in Birmingham were, quite literally, shocked when they became the focus of an electrical storm on Saturday – with one of them even suffering serious burns and a heart attack as a result.
More pointedly, a 17-year-old boy was left in a state of cardiac arrest and four other similarly unnamed youths were rushed to hospitals by members of the West Midlands Ambulance Service, who answered the weekend strike call to find a diligent member of the public attempting to administer CPR on the stricken boy.
“The 17-year-old boy suffered serious burns after being struck by lightning and was in cardiac arrest,” explained an ambulance service spokeswoman, who also went on to say that emergency crews continued to treat the boy as he was transferred to the nearby Heartlands Hospital. The boy is now described as being in a critical but stable condition.
The injuries of four other teens were assessed by emergency response teams at the scene, resulting in one of them being admitted to Heartlands Hospital for observation and three others being transferred for minor treatment at Birmingham City Hospital.
Related reports suggest the group of teenagers had been playing cricket and sought shelter beneath a tree as the storm closed in.
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