Russian woman hit by bolt of lightning in Valencia in July dies

The 52-year-old woman who was seriously injured when she was struck by a bolt lightning in the Marina de Valencia on 12 July has died in the Hospital Clínico de Valencia due to the serious injuries she suffered from the electric shock. Natalia V., of Russian nationality and a resident of Cabanyal, was admitted to the hospital, where she died a few days ago, according to health sources.

As reported by SUR's sister newspaper Las Provincias, the victim and her daughter took shelter from a thunderstorm under a tree but a bolt of lightning struck just a few metres away, and the electrical discharge hit the two women.

Natalia was accompanied by her 22-year-old daughter, Mila V., who was also injured by the lightning strike.

The mother lay unconscious on the ground, and her daughter was in a wheelchair as she was recovering from a recent operation. The young woman was also injured, but she crawled along on the ground and sought help from a man who was nearby. He called the 112 emergency services number.

After receiving the alert, three patrols from the Valencia Local Police, two of them from the beach service team, rushed to the scene and provided assistance to the victims. Four officers took turns to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation manoeuvres on the woman, who was still unconscious, until the arrival of an ambulance team. The medics then continued the manoeuvres and transferred the unconscious victim to the city's Hospital Clínico Universitario, where she died after several weeks in hospital.