Chris suffered second-degree burns on his back and arm
Chris suffered second-degree burns on his back and arm
Terrifying footage has emerged showing the moment a family of three were sent 'flying' after they were struck by lightning while on a hike.

Chris Lovera was walking with his two kids, Aidan, 12, and Nadia, nine, when it began to pour and they were forced to shelter under a tree in Sequoia National Park, California.

Suddenly, they were 'blown up' by a huge lightning bolt that threw them through the air.

Chris said: 'One rescuer, Nick Barton, said it looked as if we had been blown up, bodies flying, dirt and debris ejecting from the eight-inch deep furrow made as the lightning exited my right foot and made a direct path through the ground to the lake.'

The father was paralyzed for a short time after the bolt had melted his clothes and caused second-degree burns on his back and arm.



His children also suffered severe burns and punctured eardrums.

'Aidan's screaming brought me to consciousness,' he continued. 'Disoriented at seeing the blood clotted on the left of his head, and the blood and burns than ran down my body, and the trauma of seeing Nadia face-down up the hill from me, all of us in severe shock. My clothes had been shredded, burned and fused to parts of my body, and I could not move as I lay on my back.'

Witnesses rushed to their side. Emergency services were called and the family was eventually airlifted to safety.

Chris said: 'I am most certainly alive, Aidan and Nadia as well, because of the common and selfless bravery of so many wonderful people. I was in such a terrible state of shock and trauma.'

Just seconds before the bolt struck, Chris had taken a video with him and his kids huddled under a tree. He can be heard saying: 'We picked a good weekend to come backpacking, didn't we?'

He explained: 'We took this video because the rain, then hail, started coming down in biblical proportions. About half a minute after taking this video, and slipping my phone in my chest pocket is where our collective memory stops.

'We were all in the same positions you see us in in the video when we were struck. We didn't hear, see or feel a thing until we all regained consciousness at various points, separated from one another by ten feet or so. It's very odd for me reviewing that video.'

The incredible incident was captured on camera by hikers across the water.

It shows the bolt slam down to Earth and a witness says he saw bodies flying through the air.

Chris added: 'I'm grateful, of course, that my children and I are alive.

'Really, what I come away with is just the gratitude I have for this set of people who were so selfless and willing to go out in this storm - it was still lightning and raining, and they went out into this and helped us selflessly. And it's just been overwhelming in a good way to see so many people in our community be willing to give. People are innately good at heart.'