Lightning strike injures 71 people at rock festival

Saturday, June 4, 2016, 4:02 PM - Dozens of people have been injured by a lightning strike at a major music festival in Germany. 

Some 71 people were hurt in the incident, which took place at the Rock am Ring festival in the town of Mendig, in the west of the country near the border with Belgium. No deaths have been reported, but one of the injured had to be resuscitated.

The festival -- a major event including headliners like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Sabbath, and including some Canadian acts like Billy Talent -- attracted around 90,000 attendees this year according to the BBC. The show was halted for several hours after the strikes.

The strike occurred Friday night, and local police said in a statement Saturday that it has increased the number of officers and first responders on the scene.

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Reuters says lightning injured 33 people at the same festival last year. Festival organizers temporarily suspended shows on Saturday, but a late-day update indicated the threat of thunderstorms had eased enough for evening shows to go ahead, though concert-goers were warned of the chance of showers.

Europe has been wracked by severe storms over the past week. A lightning strike in a park in Paris sent several children to hospital, and severe storms have caused major flooding in southeastern Germany and France.

SOURCES: BBC | Reuters | Rock am Ring | Mayen Police