Three hikers have been killed by lightning while hiking on a popular trail in the Austrian Alps.
The group, which consisted of two brothers aged 60 and 62 and the 60-year-old wife of one of the men, was hiking on the Damülser Mittagsspitze mountain in Austria's Tyrolean Alps on Sunday June 15 when the rare incident took place.
Patrick Wechner, head of operations for the Alpine Police, also known as the Alpinpolizei, says the trio had begun their descent at around 12:30pm and had reported a change in the weather. At around 7pm, when they hadn't returned home as expected, relatives raised the alarm.
The hikers, who Wechner describes as "experienced mountaineers," had left a detailed trip plan with relatives, and on Monday, crews quickly spotted the bodies from a helicopter near a path at around 7,440 ft (2,268 m). It was unable to land due to stormy weather, and a physician had to be lowered to the scene. Officials say they believe the three hikers were killed by a single lightning strike.
The story comes just one day after we reported that two hikers had been struck by lightning on the summit of a Colorado 14er while on the phone with mountain rescue. Lightning strikes and fatalities from lightning are rare, but the summer season increases your risk as afternoon thunderstorms become more common.
In general, it's advisable to check the mountain weather forecast before beginning your hike and to start early in order to be below treeline by the afternoon. Read more in our article on lightning safety.
