Terrifying moment mother-of-two is killed by a lightning strike during family trip to the beach in Colombia
- Froilanis Maireth Rivas Román was hit by lightning while on a beach in Colombia
- The 34-year-old was visiting Boquilla Beach in Cartagena with her family
A mother-of two has been killed by a lightning strike during a family trip to the beach in Colombia.
Froilanis Maireth Rivas Román was engulfed in a fireball for a split second before falling backwards as an onlooker filmed the horrifying moment on their mobile phone.
Ms Román, 34, was seen walking along the shoreline in the distance as a uniformed official came off the beach.
The footage then shows a long streak of lightning extending from the sky, hitting the tourist.
The official is seen ducking down in shock at the sound of thunder but doesn’t look back to see the electrocuted woman.
Meanwhile, a nearby beachgoer drops to the sand in shock before running over to help her – but tragically, Venezuelan national Froilanis died on the spot.
According to the authorities, she died of cardiorespiratory arrest after being struck by the lightning bolt yesterday.
Froilanis Maireth Rivas Román was killed by a lightning strike yesterday
Ms Román, 34, (pictured) leaves behind a son and a daughter
Ms Román was seen walking along the shore in the distance shortly before the lightning hit
Filmed by a shocked onlooker, footage shows a streak of lightning from the sky hitting her
She was visiting Boquilla Beach in Cartagena, Colombia, with family members at the time and they had arrived in the coastal city earlier that day.
Froilanis leaves behind a son and daughter, and she regularly shared posts about her joy at being a mother to two young children on her Facebook page. She also ran her own clothing company on Instagram.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are one in one million, however nearly 90 per cent of victims will survive.
There is a high number of deaths caused by lightning strikes in Colombia due to its geographical conditions.
According to the Industrial University of Santander, the country’s large number of mountains and open plains make it prone to electrical discharges.
The university stated: ‘These conditions mean that Colombia is the region with the highest lightning activity in the world, which increases the number of deaths and injuries due to this phenomenon, especially in rural areas.’
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