Three experienced Austrian hikers were killed when lightning struck during a sudden thunderstorm in the Tyrolean Alps over the weekend, police told AFP on Tuesday.
Authorities said such incidents are "extremely rare" in the country of almost 9.2 million, which is famed for its mountain ranges.
Struck during descent
Lightning struck when a couple, both aged 60, and a 62-year-old relative were descending from the Mittagspitze mountain near the village of Flirsch in Tyrol province.
"Due to a sudden change in weather conditions, the group immediately began their descent at around 12:30pm (1030 GMT), but they did not return," police said in a statement.
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"The trio was struck" at an altitude of about 2,270 metres (7,440 feet), where their bodies were later found near a trail by rescuers, a local police spokeswoman told AFP.
After relatives reported them missing, a rescue operation including a helicopter was launched.
Warnings from mountain rescue
According to Gregor Franke, head of operations at Tyrol's Mountain Rescue Service, such accidents are "an exception".
To avoid getting stuck in thunderstorms, which tend to occur more often in the afternoon and evening, it is vital to "depart earlier and come down earlier", Franke told Austrian press agency APA.
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