A 16-year-old girl has miraculously survived after being struck by a bolt of lightning on her way to school in Victoria’s north-west.
While walking to Irymple Secondary College, located near Mildura, Lorianne Lowerson was hit around 9am yesterday morning during a thunderstorm.
The umbrella she held functioned as a conductor, transmitting a powerful electric surge through her hand.
“I saw a bolt of blue jolt through the umbrella,” she recounted. “Then I heard a little noise, and my umbrella shocked my hand.
“It hurt quite a bit in my hand and upper arm.
“It shocked me, and I was a bit confused about what was happening.”
On reaching school, Lorianne managed to alert others.
“My teacher initially thought I was joking, and we shared a little laugh,” she explained. “I eventually had to clarify that I genuinely had been struck by lightning.”
Following an assessment at a nearby hospital, Lorianne was later discharged.
“A specialist who attended said I was the first lightning strike victim he had encountered in his 25 years of nursing,” she noted.
Incredibly, Lorianne only experienced bruising on her hands and a headache. “I think I was unlucky to get struck by lightning, but I feel lucky to have survived the whole experience,” she stated.
