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A 15-year-old Alabama girl died Saturday after she was struck by lightning while swimming off the Georgia coast, according to police.
The Tybee Island Police Department received a 911 call about 2:40 p.m. about a female who had possibly been struck as she swam in the ocean, the department said in a statement on Facebook. //
The girl’s death was the second lightning fatality of the year in the US.
On Wednesday, 70-year-old Michael Ward died after being struck by lightning while golfing in Burlington County, New Jersey.
Data collected by the National Lightning Safety Council shows a total of 17 lightning fatalities in 2020.
The most recent lightning fatality in Georgia prior to Saturday occurred on July 3, 2020, when a 9-year-old girl was struck while walking in Moultrie, WTOC reported.
Georgia ranked eighth in the US with nine fatal lightning strikes between 2010 and 2019, according to the council.
Florida ranks first, with 47 fatalities between 2010 and 2019.