Photo: Fort Gordon/Facebook
One U.S. Army Reserve soldier died and nine others were injured after a lightning strike at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia on Wednesday.
The lightning struck around 11:10 a.m. as the soldiers conducted a training exercise, according toThe Augusta ChronicleandThe Washington Post.
A spokeswoman from the base told thePostthat she could not release the identities of the injured soldiers, while the dead soldier’s identity will be released after their family has been notified. The base has not yet commented on the status of the other nine soldiers injured in the lightning strike.
Fort Gordon’s Public Affairs Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment Thursday.
Fort Gordon/Facebook
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Fort Gordon, which was first established as Camp Gordon in 1917, hosts “approximately 16,000 service members (including active duty, national guard and reserve) and another 9,000 civilian employees,” according tothe base’s website. The base’s total population — which its website says includes military families, contractors and retirees among others — is roughly 80,000.
The military’s safety precautions for lightning storms include instructing soldiers to place weapons on the ground, spread out and remove tactical gear to minimize potential injuries from a direct strike, according to thePost.
The CDC’s website also notes that states in the southeast part of the country are most at risk from lightning strikes, with Florida and Texas recording the most lightning deaths between 2006 and 2021.
source: people.com
