A man is in critical condition after being struck by lightning near Byron Bay. Photo: Shutterstock
The usual worries of surfing don’t normally include lightning, but for an unlucky man surfing at Suffolk Park near Byron Bay, a sudden violent storm turned a day at the beach into a shocking experience.
At around 10 am, the man, reportedly in his his 30s, was struck by lightning during a morning surf session just a few hundred feet from a junior surfing contest that had been called off due to heavy rain. “We noticed all the clouds coming across the water, and it hit just like a bomb,” said Brett Fasso of the Byron Bay Board Riders’ Club. “It was just like a really strong, radical front. There was lightning. You could barely see the guys in the water for the rain.”
The man was taken to the beach by friends, where the ambulance service took him to Tweed Heads hospital. He is listed in critical condition.
Photo: ABC
The Bureau of Meteorology said there was heavy rainfall in the Byron Bay area on Sunday morning and there was a storm warning issued for the north coast. According to ABC, the region received just over 60mm of rain in a few short hours.
We’ll have more on this story as it develops.
