Seven members of a group of young people hiking in Utah were taken to hospitals Thursday after lightning struck the ground near them.
The youth group from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salina, Utah, was in eastern Sevier County around 1:45 p.m. when a light rain began.
Officials said the storm caused the water to recede before the lightning struck the ground, CBS Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV reports.
“Approximately 50 youths felt the shock of lightning,” Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said in a statement, adding that seven of the youths had “medical concerns due to electrocution.”
Two had severe symptoms and were airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi, Utah. Five other people were taken by ambulance to Sevier Valley Hospital in Richfield and Gunnison Valley Hospital in Gunnison, Curtis said.
None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, according to Curtis, who said the other hikers were returned to their families in Salina, which is 139 miles south of Salt Lake City.
