Mother Nature provided the flash for an epic and painful selfie in London when three siblings were struck by lightning while taking a photo together.
Rachel, Isobel, and Andrew Jobson were cycling when they took shelter under a tree close to Molesey Lock in England during Monday’s heavy rain. The trio made the headlines recently when they managed to capture a selfie at the exact moment of getting hit by a lightning strike.
According to IFLScience, the three didn’t suffer from any major injuries. All they had were a few burns. This was the selfie they captured:
Typically, lightning airs for the object with the least resistance, and in this scenario, the tree was the highest object in the area. Unfortunately, a bolt of lightning struck the three siblings leaving them wounded on the ground.
“All of a sudden, I was on the ground and couldn’t hear anything apart from this high-pitched buzzing,” said Rachel while reporting BBC.
“My whole right arm was numb, and I couldn’t move it.”
After the incident, they were instantly rescued by people nearby and taken to the hospital. Fortunately, none of them got critically injured and was returned home after a mini procedure. The trio contacted media channels to express their gratitude to St George’s Hospital for their excellent service.
Getting hit by a lightning strike is a pretty rare occurrence, but technically not impossible. Therefore, the National Center for Environmental Health devised few precautionary measures to be taken at all costs. The number one advice is to stay indoors when such a weather condition is predicted, whether it is your home, office, shops, or even your car, roll the windows up!
However, if you are caught in a different scenario, try seeking shelter inside a large building close to you. Get out of open spaces and move away from exposed hilltops. If you have nowhere to shelter, make yourself as small a target as possible by crouching down with your feet together, hands on knees and head tucked in. Avoid sheltering beneath tall or isolated trees. If you are on the water, get to the shore as quickly as possible.
Although, the photograph that the siblings captured would be a once-in-a-lifetime moment and a reminder of the consequences attached to it. Luckily, the sibling trio got out of it with some spectacular Lichtenberg figures.
Getting hit by lightning is rare but not impossible. So try and be cautious at all times.
