A young man was struck by lightning but survived as the horror moment was caught on CCTV.
Gabriel Berón and his pals were taking cover from a rainstorm around 3:20 am when he was felled down by the bolt.
The footage shows a bright flash at the moment Gabriel, 20, was zapped.
He then toppled to the ground
- Advertisement -
As he lay motionless on the pavement, his friends instinctively legged it down the road in a panic.
After regaining their composure, they called the emergency services.
READ MORE: House for sale leaves home hunters spooked…due to horror film character CHUCKY on display
Gabriel was collected and admitted to the ICU of a health facility in Villa Mercedes, southwest of Cordoba, Argentina, around 5:45 am later that morning on Saturday (6 Jan).
He later told local media from his general-ward bed: “I didn’t feel anything.
- Advertisement -
“The lights went out, and I woke up in the hospital.”
Gabriel sustained burns to 70% of his body, including his arms and chest.
He faces six months of recovery.
- Advertisement -
Gabriel had left a friend’s house and had spotted his pals in a square on his way home.
He recalled: “I stayed with them for two seconds because they asked me for a cigarette.
“I was under the tree, and that’s when the lightning struck me.”
Gabriel posted a grinning selfie from his hospital bed to show his loved ones he had survived the ordeal.
He wrote on social media yesterday (9 Jan): “I can’t believe it, people.
“I want to tell you that I’ve been discharged, and now I’m back home.”
According to the USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are less than one in a million, and almost 90 per cent of all lightning strike victims survive.
READ MORE: ‘Human or animal?’: Plumber finds over 20 ‘bones’ and teeth while on job
