Four die, over 100 hurt in thunderstorm in Poland's Tatra mountains





Four people died and more than a 100 got injured in heavy thunderstorm that passed over Poland's Tatra Mountains on Thursday. A group of tourists nearby Giewont summit were struck by a lightning.

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Four people, two of them children, died and more than 100 were injured during a thunderstorm in Poland's Tatra mountains on Thursday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

A fifth person was killed by the storm in the West Tatras in neighbouring Slovakia, mountain rescue services reported.

Lightning hit a group of tourists on Giewont, a 1,894-metre mountain in Poland, after a sunny morning turned stormy, according to witnesses quoted on private broadcaster TVN24.

Tourists climbing Giewont often aim to end their trip at the summit, where a 15-metre iron cross was installed in 1901. The cross is believed to attract lightning.

"Nobody expected such a sudden storm to break out and from our human point of view it was something which was impossible to predict," said Morawiecki after a meeting of an emergency council in the southern town of Zakopane.

The mayor of Zakopane, Leszek Dorula, declared Friday a day of mourning, Polish news agency PAP reported.

Other victims were hurt in different parts of the Tatra range, which spreads over 57 kilometres in southern Poland.

Joanna Sieradzka, spokesman for the Kraków Ambulance Service, said on TVN24 that five helicopters had been involved in the rescue effort.

President Andrzej Duda expressed condolences to all affected by the cataclysm. </s> Four people — including two children — were killed and more than 100 were injured during a thunderstorm in Poland's Tatra Mountains on Thursday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

A fifth person was killed by the storm in the West Tatras in neighbouring Slovakia, mountain rescue services reported.

Lightning hit a group of tourists on Giewont, a 1,894-metre mountain in Poland, after a sunny morning turned stormy, according to witnesses quoted on private broadcaster TVN24.

Tourists climbing Giewont often aim to end their trip at the summit, where a 15-metre iron cross was installed in 1901. The cross is believed to attract lightning.

"Nobody expected such a sudden storm to break out, and from our human point of view it was something which was impossible to predict," said Morawiecki after a meeting of an emergency council in the southern town of Zakopane.

The Slovak rescue service said a Czech tourist fell hundreds of metres down the side of a mountain and was killed after lightning knocked him off Banikov peak.

Rescuers with the Polish Tatra emergency service, known as TOPR, said they believe the lightning probably hit some of the metal chains installed on Giewont peak to aid tourists in their climb.

Some of the injured were brought by helicopter to a hospital in the Polish mountain resort of Zakopane, and Krakow province governor Piotr Cwik told reporters that the death toll could certainly rise.

Morawiecki said some among the over 100 injured were in very serious condition with severe burns or head injuries, as they fell after the lightning strikes or were hit by falling rocks.

The mayor of Zakopane, Leszek Dorula, declared Friday a day of mourning, Polish news agency PAP reported.

The Tatras, part of the Carpathian mountain range, are the highest mountains in Poland and in Slovakia, and attract tourists from near and far with scenic lakes and peaks that soar to 2,655 metres.

Thursday's lightning strikes were the worst accident in the Tatras since August 1937, when lighting killed four people on Giewont.

Joanna Sieradzka, spokesperson for the Krakow Ambulance Service, said on TVN24 that five helicopters had been involved in the rescue effort.

Tourist Grzegorz Pyzel told TVN24 he was halfway up Giewont peak with his wife in clear weather when suddenly they heard thunder and thought it was a jet overhead.

"But soon lightning struck and we turned back," Pyzel said. "Suddenly it started pouring, and you could hear thunder roaring from every possible direction."

The couple reached a shelter on Hala Kondratowa, at the foot of the mountain, and soon others started coming in, saying there were injured people farther up the mountain, he said.

In another rescue operation in the Tatra Mountains, emergency workers were searching for two spelunkers who went missing in a cave on Saturday after being trapped by rising water. Rescuers used small amounts of explosives to widen passages in uncharted parts of the Wielka Sniezna cave, Poland's deepest and longest, to look for the missing cavers.

On Thursday, the body of one of the two was found, an official said. </s> Lightning strikes across the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland and neighbouring Slovakia have killed five people and injuring more than 100 others in an area popular with hikers and families, authorities said.

Lightning strikes across the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland and neighbouring Slovakia have killed five people and injuring more than 100 others in an area popular with hikers and families, authorities said.

Five dead and 100 hurt by lightning strikes in Tatra Mountains

Witnesses said the thunderstorm came suddenly on a day that began with clear weather.

Four people were killed on the Polish side, including two children, a spokeswoman for the Polish air ambulance service, Kinga Czerwinska, told the news broadcaster TVN24.

Slovak authorities said one person died in their nation.

The lightning strikes hit the Giewont peak as well as other locations across the Tatras.

Some of the injured were brought by helicopter to a hospital in the Polish mountain resort of Zakopane.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who went to Zakopane said some among the over 100 injured were in very serious condition with severe burns or head injuries. </s> WARSAW, Poland
• Lightning struck across the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland and neighboring Slovakia on Thursday, killing five people and injuring over 100 in an area popular with hikers and families, authorities said.

Witnesses said the thunderstorm came suddenly on a day that began with clear weather. The lightning strikes pummeled Poland’s Giewont peak, a trekking destination that is 6,214 feet high, as well as other locations across the Tatras.

Four people were killed on the Polish side, including two children, a spokeswoman for the Polish air ambulance service, Kinga Czerwinska, told the news broadcaster TVN24.

The Slovak rescue service said a Czech was killed after lightning knocked him off Banikov peak. The tourist fell hundreds of yards down the side of a mountain.

Rescuers with the Polish Tatra emergency service, known as TOPR, said they believe the lightning probably hit some of the metal chains installed on Giewont peak to aid tourists in their climb.

Some of the injured were brought by helicopter to a hospital in the Polish mountain resort of Zakopane and Krakow province governor Piotr Cwik said that the death toll could certainly rise.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who went to Zakopane, said some among the over 100 injured were in very serious condition with severe burns or head injuries, as they fell after the lightning strikes or were hit by falling rocks. He extended his sympathies to their relatives.

The Tatras, part of the Carpathian mountain range, are the highest mountains in Poland and in Slovakia and attract tourists from near and far with scenic lakes and peaks that soar to 8,710 feet.

Thursday’s lightning strikes were the worst accident in the Tatras since August 1937, when lighting killed four people on Giewont.

Footage on TVN24 showed rescuers racing to a helicopter to get to the peak in rainy, foggy weather and then a helicopter landing at the hospital in Zakopane with injured people.

Rescue workers planned to keep checking the mountains for anyone else who might need help.

Tourist Grzegorz Pyzel told TVN24 he was halfway up Giewont peak with his wife in clear weather when suddenly they heard thunder and thought it was a jet overhead.

“But soon lightning struck and we turned back. Suddenly it started pouring and you could hear thunder roaring from every possible direction,” Pyzel said. </s> At least five people were killed, including two children, and more than 100 injured after lightning struck in the Tatra Mountain range on the border of Poland and Slovakia on Thursday.

Four people were killed on the Polish side, among them were the two youngsters, a spokeswoman for the Polish air ambulance service, Kinga Czerwinska, told news broadcaster TVN24. Slovak authorities confirmed one person died on their side of the range.

"More than 100 people are injured," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said after arriving in the nearby mountain resort town of Zakopane.

Many of the wounded suffered severe burns or head injuries.

The Tatra Mountains lie on the Polish border with Slovakia and form a natural divide between the two countries, around 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Krakow.

Read more: German tourist dies after lightning strike in Italy

Poland's voluntary mountain rescue organization, TOPR, said rescuers had been sent to the Giewont summit, which overlooks Zakopane, where a group of people, among them children, had been struck by lightning.

A bolt hit a 15-meter-high (49-foot-high) metal cross at the mountain's 1,894-meter peak and is believed to have been the principal cause of the fatalities. The cross was installed in 1901.

"A dozen people were struck by lightning around Mount Giewont," recovery service chief Jan Krzysztof told reporters.

Kinga Czerwinska, of the Airborne Ambulance Service, said four helicopters had been sent out to help the injured, as well as to search for survivors.

"There were a lot of incidents involving lightning strikes today in the Tatras," Krzysztof added. "We heard that after lightning struck, people fell... the current then continued along the chains securing the ascent, striking everyone along the way. It looked bad," Krzysztof said.

At the beginning of the day, the weather was favorable, but conditions deteriorated as the day progressed, culminating in the storms.

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption The injured were transported to hospitals in the nearby town of Zakopane

At least four people died and more than 100 were injured in lightning strikes during a thunderstorm in Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says.

The worst bolt fell on a group of hikers at the summit of Giewont, a popular peak in the Tatra range in the south of the country.

A fifth person was killed in neighbouring Slovakia. At least one of the victims was said to be a child.

The storm is said to have descended suddenly after a sunny morning.

"Nobody expected such a sudden storm to break out and from our human point of view it was something which was impossible to predict," Mr Morawiecki said an emergency meeting in the region.

There were reports of casualties in different parts of the mountain range. At least four rescue helicopters were sent to the area.

The worst incident occurred on Thursday at the top of the 1,894m (6,214ft) Giewont mountain, where a metal cross is sited.

A lightning bolt is thought to have struck the 15m structure at a time when a large number of hikers were at the summit, and the current then travelled along a metal railing.

"We heard that after (the) lightning struck, people fell. The current then continued along the chains securing the ascent, striking everyone along the way. It looked bad," Polish mountain rescue service chief Jan Krzysztof told the country's PAP news agency.

A resident in the mountain resort town of Zakopane in the Tatra region posted a video showing the thunderstorm.

Zakopane Mayor Leszek Dorula has reportedly declared Friday a day of mourning.

Local radio in the city of Krakow posted video of a rescue helicopter on its way to Giewont. </s> WARSAW, Poland — Lightning struck across the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland and neighboring Slovakia on Thursday, killing five people and injuring over 100 others in an area popular with hikers and families, authorities said.

Witnesses said the thunderstorm came suddenly on a day that began with clear weather. The lightning strikes pummeled Poland's Giewont peak, a trekking destination that is 1,894 meters (6,214 feet) high, as well as other locations across the Tatras.

Four people were killed on the Polish side, including two children, a spokeswoman for the Polish air ambulance service, Kinga Czerwinska, told the news broadcaster TVN24.

The Slovak rescue service said a Czech was killed after lightning knocked him off Banikov peak. The tourist fell hundreds of meters (yards) down the side of a mountain.

Rescuers with the Polish Tatra emergency service, known as TOPR, said they believe the lightning probably hit some of the metal chains installed on Giewont peak to aid tourists in their climb.

Some of the injured were brought by helicopter to a hospital in the Polish mountain resort of Zakopane and Krakow province governor Piotr Cwik told reporters that the death toll could certainly rise.

A Rescue helicopter brings people injured by lighting that struck in Poland's southern Tatra Mountains during a sudden thunderstorm, in Zakopane, Poland, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Bartlomiej Jurecki)

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who went to Zakopane, said some among the over 100 injured were in very serious condition with severe burns or head injuries, as they fell after the lightning strikes or were hit by falling rocks. He extended his sympathies to their relatives.

The Tatras, part of the Carpathian mountain range, are the highest mountains in Poland and in Slovakia and attract tourists from near and far with scenic lakes and peaks that soar to 2,655 meters (8,710 feet).

Thursday's lightning strikes were the worst accident in the Tatras since August 1937, when lighting killed four people on Giewont.

Footage on TVN24 showed rescuers racing to a helicopter to get to the peak in rainy, foggy weather and then a helicopter landing at the hospital in Zakopane with injured people.

Rescue workers planned to keep checking the mountains for anyone else who might need help.

Tourist Grzegorz Pyzel told TVN24 he was halfway up Giewont peak with his wife in clear weather when suddenly they heard thunder and thought it was a jet overhead.

"But soon lightning struck and we turned back. Suddenly it started pouring and you could hear thunder roaring from every possible direction," Pyzel said.

The couple reached a shelter on Hala Kondratowa, at the foot of the mountain, and soon others started coming in, saying there were injured people further up the mountain, he said.

In another rescue operation in the Tatra Mountains, TOPR emergency workers have been searching for two spelunkers who went missing in a cave on Saturday after being trapped by rising water. Rescuers used small amounts of explosives to widen passages in uncharted parts of the Wielka Sniezna cave, Poland's deepest and longest, to look for the missing cavers.

On Thursday, the body of one of the two was found, an official said.

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RELATED: What was really going on in the viral video that appeared to show a man being struck by lightning? </s> Five people have been killed and 100 injured, some seriously, during thunderstorms in Poland's Tatra Mountains and the West Tatras in Slovakia.

Piotr Cwik, governor of the province of Krakow, told reporters that the death toll from Thursday could rise.

Lightning struck a popular hiking destination atop Mount Giewont, along the border of southern Poland and northern Slovakia.

Tourists climbing Giewont in Poland often aim to end their trip at the top, where a 15 metre iron cross was installed in 1901.

Rescuers believe the cross could have acted as a type of lightning rod. There are also metal chains along the trail to the summit that hikers often use to help climb to the top that could have conducted the electricity from the lightning bolt.

Other victims were hurt in different areas of the mountain range, which spreads over 57 kilometres in southern Poland.

Four helicopters and emergency crews were used to transport the injured off the mountain safely.

Also on Thursday, Polish rescuers found the body of one of two cavers who became trapped in the mountains after a tunnel flooded and blocked their exit.

"The first of the cavers has been found in the cave is dead. More information will be available tomorrow," said the local mountain rescue service, TOPR.

The two became trapped in the Wielka Sniezna cave, the longest and deepest in the Tatra Mountains, on Saturday, when colleagues notified the rescue services.

In the West Tatra on the Polish Slovakia border, a man was killed when lightning knocked him into a gorge, the Slovak Mountain Rescue Service said. His companion, a Czech woman, was injured. </s> Polish authorities say 5 dead, more than 100 people injured in lightning strikes in Tatra Mountains

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish authorities say 5 dead, more than 100 people injured in lightning strikes in Tatra Mountains.
At least four people are dead and more than 100 injured after lightning strikes the summit of Giewont in the Tatra Mountains, Poland. Another person is killed in Slovakia.