Lightning strike at Ebb and Flow First Nation sends 13 to hospital

More than a dozen people were sent to hospital Friday evening after a bolt of lightning struck at a powwow on Ebb and Flow First Nation.

A spokesperson with Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) said that, during the event, a large canopy or tent blew over.

“I noticed that the tipi blew over then lightning hit a centre pole, it was bright,” said Darren Thompson, a witness to the lightning strike. “There was a pink flash and it was pretty loud.”

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“When people rushed to pick it up, there was a lightning strike,” a spokesperson said in an email to Global News.

WATCH (July 8, 2019): Lightning Strike in Niverville, Man.

0:24 Lightning Strike in Niverville, Man.

“Emergency Medical Services triaged 25 people on scene. PMH can report that 13 people were sent to nearby Ste. Rose General Hospital last (Friday) night with varying injuries.”

By Saturday morning, all were treated and released from hospital.

Ebb and Flow First Nation is about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, close to Riding Mountain National Park.