Thirty-five people, including 30 children, have been injured after lightning struck during a football match in western Germany.
Three adults, the referee among them, suffered serious injuries when lightning struck the children's game in the town of Hoppstaedten on Saturday, police said.
Witnesses immediately performed CPR on the victims, and one man was taken to hospital in a helicopter.
The 30 children aged 9 to 11 and two other adults suffered irregular heartbeats. They were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, but were considered only to be slightly injured.
The match had just ended when the lightning hit.
"There was no rain and no dark sky according to witnesses," the police spokesman said.
Meteorologists said three storm cells were moving through the area at the time of the incident.
The German weather service had warned of heavy storms across the state of Rhineland-Palatinate during the afternoon.
A weather front brought heavy rain and hail to the region late on Friday, causing widespread damage.
Whole vineyards had been stripped of foliage, the spokesman said, but no people had been injured, he added.
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