16 soldiers injured by lightning strike at Fort Bragg

Patrick Malone tells The Fayetteville Observer (http://bit.ly/1LlhD4i ) that a group of 60 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division was training on a firing range Wednesday night when the strike occurred.

All were taken to Womack Army Medical Center on post, none with life-threatening injuries, according to the military.

One Paratrooper was transferred to UNC Medical Center for precautionary specialized monitoring but is in stable condition.

The soldiers were injured around 8:10 p.m. after completing a live-fire exercise, Master Sgt. Malone said the hospitalized soldiers showed symptoms of dizziness and numbness to their extremities.

Malone says the lightning appears to have struck the ground near the soldiers, and he doesn’t know whether anyone was directly hit. The leader then checked the soldiers for possible strike.

On Aug.13, 40 Ranger School students and four instructors were injured in a lightning strike at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.