Chilling video footage captured the moment a 39-year-old woman was struck and killed by lightning during a storm at a beach in the southeastern Brazilian city of Palhoça.
The victim, whose name hasn’t been released, could be seen walking with another individual at Pinheira Beach at 6:03 p.m. local time Friday when she suddenly stopped.
At least five seconds passed before a lightning bolt struck the woman, who collapsed in front of her companion, a video showed.
The Santa Catarina fire department arrived on the scene about 15 minutes after the incident and found the woman unconscious and with burn marks over her body while the person that was with her performed CPR.
Paramedics used an automated external defibrillator to resuscitate the woman and rushed her to an emergency care facility in the municipality of Sonho.
She was intubated and then transferred to a hospital in the nearby city of Säo José, where she died Saturday morning.
The São José Regional Hospital system said in a statement that the woman was “taken to the hospital in serious condition, where she remained under the care of the medical team, receiving all the necessary support.”
At least two other people, including an 8-year-old boy, died Friday night as the cities in Santa Catarina and the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul were hit by storms.
The Rio Grande do Sul Civil Defense said the boy was sleeping with his 4-month-old brother when a tree fell on top of their home. The baby and the boy’s mother were injured.
The state’s second fatal victim, a 72-year-old man, died after the car he was driving was swept by floodwaters Friday night. A 65-year-old passenger was able to escape and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The tragedy comes amid a string of deadly lightning strikes in the US this year. At least 12 people have been killedby lightning strikes so far in 2026, according to National Weather Service data.
According to the CDC, at least 37 million lightning strikes hit the ground in the US each year.
The odds of being impacted are less than one in a million and at least 90% of the victims survive.
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