Lightning strike kills swimmer, hospitalizes 3 others at popular beach

FT. MYERS BEACH, Fla. (CNN) — One person is dead and three others were injured following a lightning strike at Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, Friday.

Fire officials said the group was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico at the time of the strike. Responding crews found a man unresponsive while a bystander performed CPR.

A witness at the scene described the response effort.

“So, I went running up the beach. He was laying near the water. There was already a paramedic doing CPR. There was already a nurse doing CPR. They had the AED connected, but he did not have a shockable rhythm, so you just keep doing CPR. We kept making sure that his head was turned to the side and we just kept doing CPR until paramedics came,” the witness said.

Officials said the unresponsive man died from his injuries. The other victims were taken to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown.