Two sisters killed and third injured by lightning strike in Norway

Air ambulance needed to lift injured teenagers from mountain peak after accident

Norwegian broadcaster NRK said more than 800 lightning strikes were recorded in the area on Sunday afternoon and early evening [file photo] (Getty Images)

Two Norwegian sisters were killed when they were struck by lightning while hiking up a mountain on Sunday.

Benedicte Myrset, 18, and her 12-year-old sister Victoria, were caught in a storm while in the Hareid region on Norway’s western coast.

They were also walking with a third sister, who was seriously injured by the lightning but not killed and is currently in hospital.

The trio were on Melshorn mountain, which is popular with visitors, when the incident took place.

Authorities launched a rescue mission after hearing the girls had been caught in a fierce and unexpected thunderstorm on Sunday evening at around 5pm.

The air ambulance helicopter picked up both the bodies of Benedicte and Victoria, as well as their severely injured sister, who has not been named.

A woman who was with the three sisters and alerted the police to the incident feared all three had been killed at first, police told a press conference later on Sunday evening.

The Hareid municipality set up a crisis team to manage the situation, Norwegian media reported.

“This is a deeply tragic situation. The crisis team has been established, and we are meeting now and planning how we will follow this up in the best possible way,” the local mayor Bernt Brandal told the Norwegian newspaper Sunnmørsposten.

In a separate statement, Mr Brandal described it "a deeply tragic event" that no one could have predicted because the weather "changed tremendously fast".

In Oslo, where the family were from, the mayor Marianne Borgen, said her thoughts were with the family and friends of the three girls.

“This is a great tragedy that hits a family so hard. This is something I think we all feel affected by,” she told the Norwegian newspaper VG.

“There is a whole neighbourhood and a whole small village in the city that is affected when such a tragic accident happens. We want to do our part to ensure that the district is prepared to take care of the people around.”

The school where Benedicte was a student has opened up for students to come in if they want someone to talk to in the wake of the tragedy, and is also involved in preparing a memorial service after the school holidays have finished.