Deadly Lightning Storm Likened to a ‘Terror Attack’ Kills 5 and Injures 150 in Polish Mountains

Two people remained missing Friday in southern Poland after a deadly thunderstorm with multiple lightning strikes hit the Tatra Mountains, killing five and injuring over 150, reports the AP. The Thursday afternoon thunderstorm came suddenly on a day that had begun with clear weather.

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“This is a situation that can be compared to a terrorist attack,” Jan Krzysztof, head of the TOPR Tatra emergency service said. “A large group of random people has been hit. Many people, including children. Burnt, with broken legs, wounds all over their bodies.”

He added rescuers on Friday were checking the slopes of the popular Giewont peak, which is 6,200-feet high, for three people who have not returned following the storm and could not be reached by their families.

Tymczasem w #zakopane jakby wojna! #podhale #thunder #grzmot #pioruny #thunderstorm pic.twitter.com/IG8m9DnAdx

— Maciej Kleniewski 🇪🇺🇵🇱 (@mkleniewski) August 22, 2019

Officials said the lightning storm killed four people in Poland, including two children, and a Czech tourist who fell hundreds of feet off the mountain in neighboring Slovakia. Over 150 people caught in the storm were treated for burns, fractures and heart problems in the hospital. 34 people remained hospitalized Friday in Zakopane, Krakow and other locations.

Krzysztof said the massive mountain rescue action involved five helicopters and “went beyond” any scenario that his team had ever faced.

The Tatras, part of the Carpathian mountain range, are the highest mountains in Poland and Slovakia.