Lightning strike kills one soldier and wounds nine others at US Army base

Victims were in training area when bad weather hit

One person has been killed and nine others were injured after a lightning strike hit the Fort Gordon US Army base in Georgia, officials have said.

The base, about seven miles west of Augusta and the South Carolina border, was hit by the lightning event on Wednesday at about 11.10am.

US Army spokeswoman Anne H. Bowman told The New York Times that the deceased, who died of their injuries, had been hit while in the training area of the base.

“It is with a heavy heart Fort Gordon confirms one of the soldiers injured in the lightning strike this afternoon succumbed to their injuries,” she said.

It was also unclear if the lightning struck the soldiers themselves or if a nearby generator in the training area of the base was hit, causing injuries, according to The Washington Post.

The injuries sustained by the nine other people were unknown on Wednesday night, although more information was expected on Thursday.

That includes the identity of the deceased soldier once family have been informed, Ms Bowman told The Times.

She added that in the immediate aftermath of the strike, the Fort Gordon Department of Emergency Services and Emergency Medical Services teams responded to the base.

All 10 soldiers were taken to the nearby Dwight D Eisenhower Medical Center, which is located on the base, for treatment.

Reports said the US Army has lightning policies when bad weather is forecast to reduce the risk of service members – who spend more time outdoors then an average person – getting hit. That includes leaving weapons on the ground and standing 15ft apart form other personnel, according to the Post.

Fort Gordon is home to about 80,000 people, including 16,000 soldiers.