16 Soldiers Hospitalized After Lightning Strike at Fort Bragg

Sean Breslin
Published: August 20,2015

(Wikimedia/FishCop)

More than a dozen soldiers were injured by a lightning strike Wednesday night at Fort Bragg in eastern North Carolina, officials said.
The incident occurred about 8:10 p.m. local time, Master Sgt. Patrick Malone told the Fayetteville Observer. A total of 18 soldiers showed symptoms consistent with a lightning strike, and 16 were hospitalized overnight.

This image shows the radar at 8:09 p.m. EDT Wednesday, showing thunderstorms near the circled area where Fort Bragg is located, just north of Fayetteville.
(GR2 Analyst)

None of the injuries are considered life-threatening, the report added.
"A review of radar imagery shows that a few isolated storms popped up close to 6 p.m. on Wednesday," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. "Storm coverage continued to grow just to the north through the hour, and then off to the west after 7 p.m. Thereafter, a large area of rain and thunderstorms affected the area through the rest of the evening."
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About 60 soldiers were participating in weapons training outdoors at the time of the storm, and exercises had just completed, the Observer reported. As soon as the lightning strike occurred, the unit quickly moved to lower ground.
"They took immediate action and executed a lightning drill by ensuring all personnel moved from higher ground to occupy trucks and spread out on low ground," Malone told the newspaper.
Fort Bragg is located about 10 miles northwest of Fayetteville.
This is the second incident in a week involving soldiers struck by lightning. Two instructors and 17 Army Ranger trainees were hospitalized overnight near Florida's Eglin Air Force Base last Wednesday when a lightning bolt hit a unit that was performing lightning-protection protocols. All returned to their duties the next day.
MORE: Images of Lightning