Lightning strike kills US soldier, injures 9: reports

Washington, Jul 21: One US soldier was killed, and nine others were injured when lightning struck an military base in the US state of Georgia, local media reported on Wednesday evening.

The incident reportedly happened at 11 a.m. local time at Fort Gordon base, as a severe thunderstorm swept across the area.

"It is with a heavy heart Fort Gordon confirms one of the soldiers in the lightning strike this afternoon succumbed to their injuries,'' said Fort Gordon's Deputy Public Affairs Officer Anne Bowman.

Fort Gordon authorities told local media that emergency services were attending to the casualties. The extent of the injuries to the survivors wasn't immediately known.

Fort Gordon is home to the US Army Signal Corps and the Army's Cyber Center of Excellence - a training academy for electronic warfare and cyber defense.

The storm hit has much of the US swelters under soaring heat, with some 100 million Americans living in parts of the country that are subject to a temperature alert.

Source: DW