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© Robert Harding/AlamyA walker killed by a bolt of lightning during a thunderstorm on the Brecon Beacons may have been struck because he was carrying a selfie stick
A walker who was killed by a bolt of lightning during a thunderstorm on the Brecon Beacons may have been struck because he was carrying a selfie stick, it has been claimed.

Two men died and two were injured on the mountain range in Powys, Mid Wales, after separate lightning bolts in several parts of the park.

Sources close to the rescue said one of the dead men had been carrying a metal selfie stick, which may have attracted an electrical strike.

It emerged on Monday that one of the victims was leading children on a Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme.

The man, who was in his 50s, is thought to have been a Duke Of Edinburgh (DofE) Award assessor. The second fatality was a male walker who was walking up the Cribyn peak when he was caught in the storm.

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© AlamySelfie sticks are extendable arms designed to allow the owner to take a photo of themselves on their smartphone

It is not known which victim was carrying the selfie stick, which are extendable arms designed to allow the owner to take a photo of themselves on their smartphone.

Rescuers told on Monday how they believe the climbers would not have had time to react to the thunderstorm because it arrived so suddenly.

The accredited DofE assessor is believed to have been standing at the summit waiting for a party of 15 teenagers with a female walker when the lightning struck. But the group were directed back down the mountain by another leader when the storm began.

The DofE assessor was found by off-duty marine cadet instructors who attempted to resuscitate him before mountain rescuers arrived.

He was flown to hospital by rescue helicopter along with two other casualties hit by separate lightning strikes on different parts of the mountain.

One man injured by a separate lightning bolt on Sunday has left hospital after suffering temporary paralysis caused by the lightning.

Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfill said in a statement earlier today: "We can confirm that the person who remained at Prince Charles Hospital for treatment following yesterday's tragic lightening strikes in the Brecon Beacons has been discharged."

A fourth man is still being treated for burns at a specialist unit in Swansea's Morriston Hospital.

All four of the men were from England, Dyfed-Powys Police have revealed.