A 40-year-old man struck by lightning on the Gold Coast has died in hospital.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The lightning also struck his wife and their two children, aged 18 months and 12 weeks.
The family was near the Worongary State School, which was a polling station for Saturday's state election.
It is believed they tried to take shelter as a sudden storm whipped through the school grounds just before 4pm.
Witnesses said the man pushing his toddler out of the way as the lightning hit, reducing the impact on the youngster.
Passers-by performed CPR on the injured man, which was paramedics continued when they arrived.
The family was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital, but the man was pronounced dead just before 7pm.
Earlier
A 40-year-old father of two is fighting for his life in a Gold Coast hospital after being struck by lightning at a polling booth on Saturday afternoon.
The man, his wife, their toddler and 12-week-old baby were trying to seek shelter from a sudden storm at the Worongary State School when the lightning bolt hit just before 4pm.
Channel Seven reported the man pushed his toddler out of harm's way and took the full force of the strike himself.
Passers-by began to perform CPR, which was continued by paramedics who rushed the man to the Gold Coast University Hospital.
"It appears ... the father, he has taken a direct strike by lightning, it has then travelled into an 18-month-old male child," Queensland Ambulance spokesperson Michael Augustus told the ABC.
"There was also an adult lady, the mother, who also had with her a 12-week-old infant and unfortunately they all suffered some form of injury."
It's understood the woman and two children are in a stable condition.
More than 15,000 homes and businesses in south-east Queensland lost power when the wild storms ripped through the region.
Energex recorded 1500 lightning strikes between 4.30 and 5.30pm, but spokeswoman Karen West said it was the destructive winds that prompted multiple calls about downed powerlines.
"The high winds can push the vegetation on to powerlines and cause a lot of damage," she said.
"Brisbane has just over 8000 [without power] and the Gold Coast has about 6500."
By 5.45pm, the BOM radar showed the bulk of the storm cell was out at sea, and at 6.30pm the severe storm warning was cancelled.
Hail the size of golf balls was recorded in parts of Brisbane, including at Algester on Brisbane's southside where four-year-old Harrison Lilly enjoyed scooping up the ice once the storm had passed.
