"This Came Out of Nowhere"...16 Inmates Electrocuted After Dinner at US Prison

Emergency Transfer to Hospital Outside Prison
Severe Storms Hit Region on the Day of the Incident

A sudden lightning strike at a prison in Ohio, USA, resulted in a mass electrocution incident involving 16 inmates.

According to reports from local media such as USA Today and Fox News, the incident occurred on the 11th (local time) at the Grafton Correctional Institution, located about 30 km southwest of Cleveland, Ohio.

That evening, a lightning strike caused 16 inmates to be electrocuted, all of whom were transported to a hospital outside the prison. Of those, 12 received treatment and returned to the correctional facility, while 4 remained hospitalized as of August 14, with one reported to be in critical condition.

On the 11th (local time), a lightning strike occurred at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Ohio, USA, resulting in 16 inmates being transported to the hospital. The photo shows an ambulance stopped in front of the prison. Photo by WSFA12

However, no prison staff were injured in the incident.

At the time of the accident, the inmates had finished dinner in the prison cafeteria and were on their way back to their cells. While walking across the yard, they were suddenly struck by lightning.

A prison official explained to the media, "There were no signs that lightning might occur," adding, "We close the yard and keep everyone inside the building on days with storm warnings, but since there were no such signs that day, no action was taken."

A family member of one of the inmates struck by lightning stated, "(My nephew, who is an inmate, said that) after waking up from the lightning strike, it looked as if there were bodies strewn across the ground just like a scene from a video game. He also said he felt dazed and completely confused about what had happened."

At the time of the incident, Ohio and other parts of the Midwest were experiencing severe storms. According to the Cleveland National Weather Service, at around 8 p.m. on August 11, a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for northwestern and north-central Ohio, with gusts reaching up to 96 km/h.

In the United States, there are about 37 million lightning strikes annually, with an average of 400 people affected each year. According to statistics, 517 people have died from lightning strikes from 2006 through last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.