November 14, 2026 — 8:15pm
A lightning bolt has struck a man swimming on the NSW Central Coast on Saturday afternoon, with bystanders forced to pull him from the water.
The man was among a crowd enjoying the warm and sunny afternoon at Umina, north of Sydney, on Saturday afternoon.
“It came out of the blue, we could see a bit of storm happening towards Palm Beach. Where we were was sunny, clear skies - it really came out of nowhere,” witness Ed Alvarez told Nine News.
The man was pulled from the water by bystanders just before 4pm, then taken off the sand in a beach buggy.
He was then taken by road ambulance to hospital.
“My thoughts are with the person injured in the lightning strike at Umina Beach and their family during what must be an incredibly frightening time,” Central Coast councillor Jared Wright said.
“I want to acknowledge the efforts of NSW Ambulance, police and all emergency services personnel responding to the incident, particularly those working to get the patient safely to Gosford Hospital.”
The state’s beaches were crowded on Saturday, with the weather 6 degrees above the November average, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
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Source: The Age · Sally Rawsthorne
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