Four people are in critical condition after being struck by lightning outside the White House in Washington DC.
Two men and two women were taken to a nearby hospital following the incident at Lafayette Park that saw US Secret Service personnel, as well as US Park Police arrive swiftly on the scene and administer medical attention to the victims.
Footage shared across social media showed a large emergency services presence along the main road, which separates the White House from the park, the Daily Mirror reports.
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A tweet from the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department confirmed they were in the process of treating and transporting four patients, all in critical condition with life threatening injuries.
The tweet read: "#DCsBravest transported 2 adult males & 2 adult females to area hospitals. All had critical life threatening injuries."
Fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo told the Washington Post that the four victims had been found suffering from injuries at around 7pm local time (midnight UK time), around 100 feet from the park's bronze statue of General Andrew Jackson.
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The authorities said it's still unclear what the adults were doing prior to the lightning strike, if they knew each other and why they were in the park, with the victims' identities not yet been released.
Lightning strikes were also reported in the neighbouring state of Virginia and across the eastern coast of the US on Thursday evening (August 4) after The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning.
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