Lightning strike kills one, injures eight at Maryland rugby tournament

June 18, 2000
Web posted at: 2:03 a.m. EDT (0603 GMT)

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (CNN) -- A lightning strike during a rugby tournament killed one man and injured eight other people Saturday afternoon.

Two of the eight hurt suffered "serious" injuries, said Capt. Allan Graves of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. The victims included seven men and two women, most of whom are in their 30s.

Graves said the group of nine, who were a combination of players and spectators, gathered under a tree as a storm passed. A lightning bolt apparently struck the tree.

Graves said the one fatality was a man in his 50s, who was already in cardiac arrest when firefighters and medical personnel arrived at the scene. He was pronounced dead at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Martha Harlan, a spokeswoman for the medical center, said that six people were in "stable" condition, but she could not describe their injuries.

The two other victims were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Graves said that all of the victims were associated with a rugby team visiting from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia, areas. The team was participating in a national rugby tournament.

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STATS Spotlight Archives: Chances of Being Struck by Lightning

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