Lightning strike leaves 1 soldier dead, 9 injured during Georgia training exercise
(CNN) — One soldier was killed and nine others were injured when lightning struck during a military training exercise at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia, Wednesday, a garrison spokesperson confirmed.
The ten soldiers were conducting a field training exercise around 11:10 a.m. when the lightning strike occurred, Anne Bowman, a public affairs officer, told CNN. The extent of the nine soldiers’ injuries is unknown, she said.
The name of the soldier who died will be released once their family has been notified.
Around the time of the strike, a storm was moving through the area from the northwest to the southeast at roughly 45 miles per hour, according to CNN Weather. The temperature was around 80 degrees.
Eleven weather-related deaths in 2021 were attributed to lightning, according to the National Weather Service.
Other soldiers have died during training exercises in the US this year, including Staff Sgt. Seth Michael Plant, who was killed by a bear in Alaska, and US Army Pfc. Joseph A. Marquez, 20, who died during a vehicle-involved incident in Washington state.
In March, another soldier was killed in an incident involving two helicopters at an airfield at Georgia’s Fort Stewart.