13 hikers climbing mt whitney were hit by lightning.
“I was sitting on the floor, my back against one of the walls,” said Edward (E.J.) Wueherer “All of a sudden I saw this flash and I felt this jolt like on my funny bone, and my toe started burning. “The next thing I knew I was helping to untangle bodies.” The surging electrical charge threw Matthew Edward Nordbrock, who had been seated in the center of the hut, several feet, where he lay still on the ground.
As the hikers had sprinted for cover during the squall Saturday afternoon, Nordbrock, 26, of Huntington Beach, told one of his hiking buddies: “I’ve been hit by lightning before, so I won’t get struck.”
He died several hours later, after being removed from the 14,495-foot summit by helicopter.
Several others in the hut with Nordbrock were momentarily paralyzed when the lightning struck, and the bolt carved bite-sized chunks of flesh from hiker James MacLeod’s shoulders, back and underarm.
More info at: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-16-mn-100-story.html
Survivor explination at:
