Child In Critical Condition After Being Struck By Lightning
'Freak' incident in Illawarra
9news
A young boy is in intensive car after being hit by a lightning strike on a NSW beach in Illawarra.
Emergency crews are calling it a "freak accident", after the ten-year-old was rushed to Westmead Hospital in west Sydney on Australia Day.
A witness said the noise was frightening, as an off-duty nurse came to his aid with CPR.
The boy was hit while at Barrack Point, near Shellharbour around 5pm on Thursday.
Illawarra Ambulance inspector Terry Morrow said lifeguards responded quickly, pulling the boy from the water before the nurse commenced CPR.
"People were yelling and screaming for help, the lifeguards rushed to the assistance of the young man, he was in full cardiac arrest, unconscious and unresponsive," he said.
"An off-duty doctor happened to be on the beach at the time and also went to the young fellow's aid.
"We went to get the helicopter to take him to Sydney, however the weather was extreme and we had to take the boy to Westmead Children's Hospital by road, under police escort."
The boy suffered electric burns, and remains fighting for his life in hospital.
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