- Froilanis Rivas, originally from Venezuela, died Tuesday after being struck by lightning on a beach in Cartagena, Colombia.
- The 34-year-old woman was with her family when the quake caused her to go into cardiac arrest.
- She was taken to a local medical facility, where the doctor attempted to resuscitate her for 45 minutes before she was pronounced dead.
A family outing to a beach ended in tragedy when a Venezuelan woman was struck by lightning and killed in Cartagena province on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Froilanis Rivas, 34, was standing near the shore of a beach in the town of La Boquilla on Tuesday when she was shaken, footage filmed by a passerby showed.
A man could be seen walking nearby and falling onto the sand from the impact of the lightning.
He then got up and ran several meters before stopping and looking back.
Froilanis Rivas was killed after being struck by lightning on a beach in Cartagena, Colombia, on Tuesday. The 34-year-old woman suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors attempted to resuscitate her four 45 minutes before she was pronounced dead.
A passerby captured the moment the light hit Froilanis Rivas on a beach in Cartagena, Colombia, on Tuesday.
Paramedics transported Rivas, a mother of two, to Serena del Mar Hospital and spent 45 minutes trying to resuscitate her after she went into cardiac arrest. She was later pronounced dead.
This tragic incident comes almost two months after a Mexican woman and a hammock seller were killed by light on a beach in Michoacán, Mexico.
Elvia de Jesús was walking behind her husband after they got out of the water when she and the seller, Felix Andres, were struck by lightning on Maruata Beach on September 15.
As Jesús’s husband managed to take refuge under the canopy to escape the storm, she was struck by the light.
Andrés was walking several meters to the left when he was shocked less than a second later.
Froilanis Rivas, a mother of two from Venezuela, falls to the sand moments after being hit by lightning on a beach in Cartagena province on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Froilanis Rivas suffered cardiac arrest after being struck by lightning on a beach in Colombia and was rushed to hospital, where doctors tried to resuscitate her before she died.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that at least 40 million lightning strikes strike the ground in the United States each year.
The chances of being struck by lightning each year are less than one in a million, and at least 90% of victims survive.
Data from the National Weather Service shows that in 2023, 13 people were killed by lightning in the United States, including three people in separate boating and swimming incidents.
In comparison, 19 people died after being struck last year, compared to 11 in 2021.
