Two female hikers are hit by lightning on 3,560ft Snowdon summit after getting stranded in freak storm

  • The two women were at the summit of Snowdon in Wales when freak-weather hit
  • Rescuers said one of them was bleeding and 'falling in and out of consciousness'
  • One of the walkers had minor injuries while the other sustained serious injuries
  • Do YOU know the two female hikers? Email james.gant@mailonline.co.uk

Do YOU know the hikers?

Email james.gant@mailonline.co.uk

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Two hikers have been rushed to hospital after being struck by lightning on a mountain.

The women were at the summit of Snowdon in Wales when freak-weather hit the region yesterday afternoon.

Rescuers said one of the women was bleeding and 'falling in and out of consciousness' when they arrived on the 3,560ft-peak at 1.47pm.

North Wales Police were called and volunteer crews from Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team were sent along with the Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

One of the walkers sustained minor injuries during the incident while the other sustained serious injuries.

A witness told MailOnline: 'When we arrived it was sunny very windy before that there was a lightning storm after getting out of the train for around 20 minutes.

'We noticed the rescue team coming down and then we were all told to get into the train as the helicopter landed - what I saw was girls pointing to head and leg.'

He added: 'The helicopter shook the train and hit the train with stones from the ground.'

The women were at the summit of Snowdon in Wales when freak-weather hit the region yesterday afternoon

The women were at the summit of Snowdon in Wales when freak-weather hit the region yesterday afternoon

A graphic by Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team shows what to do on the mountain during lightning

A graphic by Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team shows what to do on the mountain during lightning

A spokesman for Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team said: 'The team was called out today by North Wales Police to a female at the summit of Yr Wyddfa.

'She had been struck by lightning and was falling in and out of consciousness, with blood down one side of the face.

'The team was called to our base at Nant Peris, and a request for the assistance of the Coast Guard rescue helicopter was made.

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'Some members were deployed on foot and by train, where others were flown up by Rescue 936 to Clogwyn station.

'At the summit, two females were treated for the effects of a lightning strike. One with minor injuries and the other more serious.

'Both were evacuated back down the mountain to Clogwyn station by the team where they were flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor by Rescue 936.'

The women were flown to hospital in Bangor, Gwynedd, by helicopter but their conditions are not known.

Extreme weather conditions were reported in various locations across the region yesterday with reports of 'tornados' spotted off Pen Llyn.

Others reported seeing giant rain and hailstones during a heavy shower and several areas had thunder and lightning followed almost immediately by blue skies.

It comes after a man died after plunging more than 90ft on a narrow Snowdon ridge on Saturday.

Llanberis mountain rescue team said he had fallen on the lower slopes of the north ridge of Crib Goch, and was unconscious and not breathing.

A coastguard rescue helicopter from Caernarfon and the North Wales police drone unit were alerted to help find him.

The man was airlifted to hospital from Dinas Mot but pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

North Wales police said : 'The man who died on Crib Goch on Saturday night was 47 and from the West Midlands.'

The Met Office is warning of more problems amid heavy rain and wind today after giant hailstones battered Britain and lightning strikes set buildings on fire yesterday.

Gale force winds will hammer England's south-west coast today, while showers and flooding will cause havoc in the north-west.

Yellow warnings are in place, with gusts of up to 65mph predicted, while much of Scotland is also set to experience more choppy weather.

Meteorologist Anne Shuttleworth said 'isolated' showers and thundery weather would continue over the next few days after the recent downpours.

The violent weather comes after hailstones estimated to be the size of peas landed on a Earls Barton in Northampton yesterday.

Stormy weather also caused havoc in Greater Manchester as a lightning hit Trafford General Hospital and set the rood ablaze, which resulted in a number of patients being evacuated to safety.

Firefighters were called to the blaze on the roof of a building at the Manchester hospital at 2.20pm yesterday.

They took nearly hours to get the blaze under control, finally extinguishing it at 4.15pm. 

In a statement, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: 'Just after 2.20pm this afternoon, seven fire engines were called to reports of a fire at a building on Moorside Road in Flixton.

'Crews were quickly on the scene, joined by the aerial ladder platform from Manchester Central fire station, and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are currently using two hose reels and a jet to tackle a fire involving the roof of a two-storey building.

Today's weather warnings
Friday's weather warnings

Yellow warnings are in place today (left) and Friday (right), with gusts of up to 65mph predicted, while much of Scotland is also set to experience more choppy weather

The shocking photographs were captured in Northampton as erratic conditions on Wednesday follow a week of downpours across the country with both amber and yellow weather warnings in place

The shocking photographs were captured in Northampton as erratic conditions on Wednesday follow a week of downpours across the country with both amber and yellow weather warnings in place

Heavy rain, lightning and hail 'the size of garden peas' have caused disruption across the UK, with the Met Office predicting further stormy weather to come

Heavy rain, lightning and hail 'the size of garden peas' have caused disruption across the UK, with the Met Office predicting further stormy weather to come

Pictured, photographs taken in a Stoke street of hailstone pouring down as extreme weather hits certain parts of the UK

Pictured, photographs taken in a Stoke street of hailstone pouring down as extreme weather hits certain parts of the UK

Heavy rain pounds central London as extreme weather continues following mass flooding across parts of the capital over the weekend

Heavy rain pounds central London as extreme weather continues following mass flooding across parts of the capital over the weekend

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust confirmed the hospital was struck by lightning which caused a fire in an area of the roof.

It added that patients and staff had been safely evacuated.

A total of 66 patients from ward and clinical areas were safely evacuated to other parts of the hospital.

The Minor Injuries Unit is expected to reopen this morning and outpatient appointments will go ahead as planned.

GMFRS area manager Carlos Meakin told reporters that significant damage had been caused to the roof, with the timbers 'pretty much burnt through'. 

It comes as a house in Halewood, Merseyside, caught alight after also being struck by lightning.

Firefighters are currently fighting the house fire on Arncliffe Road.

A spokesman for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services said all occupants of the house have been accounted for but the incident is ongoing.

A witness who lives in nearby flats said she was on the fourth floor and saw the 'massive flash' of lightning that hit the house.

She told the Liverpool Echo: 'Basically I was sitting in the flat, on the fourth floor just over the road, and thunder and lightning was going on then next minute there was a massive flash and bang.

'I said 'what the hell is that?'. I knew it wasn't normal lightning because it was like an explosion. It was an explosive bang. I thought it was an explosion.

'Then we seen through the window the smoke pouring out of the house.'

Witnesses said the blaze broke out yesterday after the hospital on Moorside road was struck by lightning. Pictured, the scene which shows smoke bellowing out of the top of the hospital

Witnesses said the blaze broke out yesterday after the hospital on Moorside road was struck by lightning. Pictured, the scene which shows smoke bellowing out of the top of the hospital

Firefighters were called to the blaze on the roof of a building at the Manchester hospital at 2.20pm on Wednesday afternoon

Firefighters were called to the blaze on the roof of a building at the Manchester hospital at 2.20pm on Wednesday afternoon

The woman, who didn't want to be named, said that the damage is visible and is mainly on the roof. She added: 'I can see the damage from binoculars, it's all on the roof. It looks like the lightning stuck the roof and went down through the house.

'I thought it might even be a gas explosion at first because the bang was terrible. I just thought I hope everyone is ok.'

A Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: 'Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are using hose reel jets to extinguish the fire. The combined platform ladder is being used to fight the fire from above.

'A structural engineer has been requested to attend the incident.' 

Yesterday, Britain faced flash floods as forecasters warned of more than three inches of rain and a 'danger to life'.

Thunderstorms and torrential downpours swept across much of the country yesterday with the Met Office warning the rain could be so heavy that it might spark power cuts and leave some communities cut off.

Many areas of northern England and Scotland were under a 'yellow' weather warning yesterday with a more severe 'amber' warning in place for the Highlands amid fears over 'fast flowing or deep floodwater'.

Up to 3.1in (80mm) was expected to fall in the worst-hit areas and heavy showers will continue throughout this week, but meteorologists added that sunny spells will break through the gloom at times. 

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has imposed 15 flood alerts for areas including Dundee, Aberdeenshire and Fife, while England's Environment Agency put out one alert on the Isle of Wight.

Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Willington said: 'Yellow warnings are in place across much of the UK, away from the south, for thunderstorms and heavy rain over the coming days. Scotland, however, is expected to see some of the heaviest rain and amber warnings for thunderstorms and also rain have been issued here.'

  • Do YOU know the two female hikers? Email james.gant@mailonline.co.uk

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