Tourists killed after being struck by lightning in Mallorca beach umbrella tragedy

A man died instantly on Cala Mesquida beach near Capdepera in northeast Mallorca, and another person died 40 minutes later late after a thunderbolt

Two vacationers died after a lightning strike on the beach of Cala Mesquida (

Image: CRONICABALEAR/SOLARPIX.COM)

Two foreign holidaymakers died in a lightning strike on a beach in Mallorca.

One of the men died instantly on Cala Mesquida beach near Capdepera in the northeast of the island.

The other victim, believed to be unknown to the first, began to convulse and died approximately 40 minutes later, despite efforts by rescuers to resuscitate her at the scene.

The tragedy occurred during a storm in the area and led to the popular beach, famous for its white sands and crystal clear waters, being briefly evacuated to avoid further tragedy.

Local reports indicate that one of the men was killed after it started to rain heavily and he put his hand on the metal handle of his parasol to fold it up and leave the beach with his wife when the lightning lit up the sky.

A rescuer said a man's body was completely charred (

Picture:

CRONICABALEAR/SOLARPIX.COM)

Lifeguard Federico Parisin told an island newspaper that he rushed to one of them when he saw smoke billowing from his body in the distance, adding: " When we reached him, his body was completely charred.

"We began trying to revive the other man as a severe electrical storm raged above us and feared for our lives as well."

The two people who lost their lives, a 65-year-old Swiss and a 51-year-old German, would not have been part of the same group although they were close to each other.

Their bodies were protected with sun loungers and umbrellas while police and other emergency responders waited for court officials to arrive and approve their removal.

No other casualties were reported and it was not immediately clear if any British tourists were on the beach at the time.

Local police and the Civil Guard helped clean up the beach briefly after today's tragedy.

The tragedy happened just nine days after a 20-month-old girl was killed by a huge hailstone about four inches in diameter and more than 70 others were injured by falling ice in...