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One boy critically ill in hospital following lightning strike in Paris park

Two people were killed by storms in mountains in southern Poland, while more than 30 people were taken to the hospital after lightning struck a children’s football match in German

John Lichfield
Sunday 29 May 2016 18:56 BST
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White-and-red tape is strung across a sandy pathway through Paris's Park Monceau after the lightning stike
White-and-red tape is strung across a sandy pathway through Paris's Park Monceau after the lightning stike

An eight-year-old boy was still critically ill in a Parisian hospital on Sunday night, after lightning struck a children’s birthday party in one of the most popular parks in the French capital.

The incident was one of a series of calamities caused by severe storms which swept across Europe on Saturday.

Two people were killed by storms in mountains in southern Poland, while more than 30 people were taken to the hospital, including the referee, after lightning struck a children’s football match in Germany.

On Sunday questions were being asked about the failure of the Paris authorities to close the heavily wooded Parc Monceau, which is especially popular with families that have small children. Penelope Komides, the Paris assistant mayor in charge of parks, said that the city had received “no particular storm warning” from the French meteorological office.

Special alerts had been issued by Metro France for other parts of the country but none for Paris. Up to 20 people a year die in lightning strikes in France but fatal incidents in the capital are almost unheard of.

Paris storm May 28 2016

At the Parc Monceau in western Paris, eight children and three adults were sheltering under a tree when it was struck by a vertical bolt of lightning. Seven people were taken to hospital, suffering from burns and the effects of electrical shock.

All were said to have recovered well on Sunday except for one boy whose condition was causing concern. The boy’s heart had stopped and he was “blue in the face” when found by an off-duty senior fire office just after the lightning struck.

Commandant Pascal Grémillot said: “I discovered that he had no pulse. I gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation twice with no luck. So I started to massage his heart.”

The head of the Paris ambulance service, Pierre Carli said the fireman’s prompt action had saved the boy’s life but he remained seriously ill.

All the other injured children and adults who were taken to hospital were said to have recovered well or to be in “satisfactory” condition. They were being kept in hospital to monitor possible damage to their hearts and brains.

Sheltering under a tree during a storm is a natural but potentially fatal instinct, experts said. If lightning strikes the top of a tree, it can injure or kill people standing within 20 metres.

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