SAN JUAN — Two people were killed off the coast of Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Sunday after they were struck by lightning while riding jet skis, according to the National Weather Service.
The lightning first struck and immediately killed a 36-year-old man who was driving a jet ski before traveling to another nearby jet ski and hitting a 26-year-old woman riding as a passenger. The woman died shortly after being carried to shore, according to The Associated Press. The driver of the second jet ski was reportedly unharmed.
A third person was injured in the strike, according to local Puerto Rican news site Metro, but it’s unclear which jet ski they were on. After the injury, the person was transported to a nearby hospital.
These two deaths bring the total lightning fatalities in the United States this year to 17, according to Lightning Safety Specialist John Jensenius. Based on the past 10 years of data, he said, the U.S. averages about 21 lightning deaths through Sept. 4. These are the first lightning-related deaths in Puerto Rico since 2017 and the 20th and 21st boating-related lightning fatalities since 2006 in Puerto Rico, according to the National Lightning Safety Council. Of those 21, eight deaths involved jet skis.
The police Bureau in the Guayama region confirmed that a man and a woman died this afternoon after a personal watercraft (jet ski) was struck by lightning.
A third person, a man, was injured. The complaint was received through the 911 Emergency System at about 4:34 p.m., Nexandra Negrón, a police spokeswoman for the Police Bureau said. The bathers were near the area of Cayo Matías, in Salinas.
“At the moment, they inform us that there are two dead people, but this is preliminary,” Negron said.
At the time of this publication, the Police Maritime Division had managed to recover one of the bodies that is supposed to be transferred to the Salinas Marina. Meanwhile, the two jet skis were recovered.
The National Weather Service warned this morning that there is “a moderate to high risk of ocean currents through the beaches.” The weather conditions in Puerto Rico are deteriorating due to the passage to the north of Tropical Storm Earl.
