BERLIN (AP) — A man has died after being struck by lightning near the top of the The highest mountain peak in Germanypolice reported on Monday.
The 18-year-old German resident was part of a group of three young men who took the cable car up the Zugspitze late Sunday afternoon and then hiked to the summit, a climb of about 80 meters (260 feet) from a terrace used by many visitors.
Lightning struck repeatedly as the men descended from the summit, and the 18-year-old suffered a fatal electric shock, police said. Rescue efforts were hampered by the ongoing storm.
The Zugspitze is located at 2,962 metres (9,718 ft) above sea level in the Alps, on the border of Germany and Austria.
Different parts of Germany were hit by storms on Sunday. In Delmenhorst, in the north of the country, a family of eight had sought shelter under a tree in a park when lightning struck. All eight were injured and a five-year-old boy and a fourteen-year-old girl were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
