A bolt of lightning struck nine farm workers at a field near Fort Collins, Colo., Thursday afternoon, knocking several of them unconscious.
Several of the victims’ colleagues put them in their cars and transported them away from the field for emergency treatment, USA Today reported. Paramedics and firefighters administered aid, as the thunder and lightning roiled in the distance.
“This was a very significant lightning storm,” Wellington Fire Chief Gary Green said, in USA Today.
All were taken to area hospitals, with two in critical condition, he said.
The two in critical condition couldn’t control their muscles and “couldn’t respond appropriately” to rescue workers who were trying to help them, Chief Green said in the USA Today report.
Complicating matters was a language barrier: The victims spoke Spanish, and emergency responders had to find translators.
The lighting struck in Wellington at a field that used to belong to Grant Family Farms.
Meanwhile, another lightning strike took place about the same time in Rocky Mountain National Park, USA Today reported. There, a 65-year-old woman was hit by a bolt and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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