British mum struck by lightning in Croatia is in a coma and will be airlifted to UK
31 August 2022, 11:59 | Updated: 31 August 2022, 18:45
A British mother who was struck by lightning on a Croatian beach while on holiday is still in a serious condition according to her family and will now be flown home for treatment.
Physiotherapist Daniella DiMambro, 48, had travelled to Split with her daughter and son, and was hit by lightning as she leaving a beach, in front of her daughter.
A professor who helped to treat the holidaymaker said it was believed that the lightning struck a necklace she was wearing.
"She was on a beach with her daughter while her son was in the apartment," a family relative told The Telegraph, adding: "The weather turned and she was hit by lightning as she walked off the beach.
"Her heart stopped and her life was saved by the paramedics who were attending another incident close by and a passing doctor."
The relative said it was a "relief" that Ms DiMambro is being flown home, but that the family "just don't know what sort of condition she was in.
"She is no longer sedated but she is still in a coma and the doctors in Britain will assess her and then let us know about internal injuries and any brain damage."
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The relative also spoke of how Ms DiMambro's daughter was at her mother's bedside "all the time" whilst the physiotherapist was in intensive care, having been left "badly burned and covered in tubes".
"We just don't know what the outcome will be. She may come around or she may need long-term help and never work again."
Worldwide around 2,000 people per year are killed by lightning strikes, with a typical lightning bolt carrying 300 million volts of electricity, a voltage over a million times higher than the 230 volts supplied to UK homes.
