Photographer snaps lightning as it strikes victim dead

Rogério Soares

In the first photograph, a young lady runs through the storm, heading for the water by Guaruja Beach in São Paulo state, Brazil. In the second, a strange, flickering column of light cuts the gloom.

36-year-old Rosangela Biavati was killed by the bolt, reports A Tribuna, turning photojournalist Rogério Soares' sequence into a startling memento mori.

Her husband, Lopes dos Santos, told Big Daily ABC that it wasn't raining at the time and that the trip was a day out with relatives.

"It was very quick," said dos Santos. "Suddenly the lightning came and she fell. We all felt the effects, the electrical discharge. I also got a shock."

Mrs. Santos was taken immediately to a nearby EMT station, but attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The family had ignored posted warnings about the approaching storm, according to A Tribuna. [via Gawker]