Fatal Lightning Strike on the Jaufen Pass

Warning.

The following sad event provides new proof of how dangerous it is to seek shelter under trees during a thunderstorm. — On 31 July of this year, around 4 o'clock in the morning, a thunderstorm broke out in the Passeier Valley, moving over St. Leonhard and Walten toward the Jaufen Mountain. The family of the fruit trader Anton Gufler from St. Martin, consisting of father, mother, and four children, had just set out on their journey over the Jaufen when a subsequent rainstorm prompted them to flee under some bushes. The father, with his wife and a small boy, had already walked a few steps ahead when the final flash of lightning struck down, knocking to the ground the three daughters, who were still under the trees, along with the mother. - The latter, as well as the middle thirteen-year-old girl, soon recovered; but the two other sisters, Maria and Magdalena Gufler, aged 18 and 13, met their death, despite prompt efforts to help them. According to the investigation conducted afterward, the lightning struck between the two sisters who were standing close together, as the elder had several bluish-red welts on her right cheek and the younger on her left. Similar stripes were found on several other parts of their bodies down to their toes. On both sisters, the hair at the nape and neck was singed as if by a light, and on Magdalena Gufler, in addition, the rear patch of a woolen scapular was entirely burned away and stuck to the skin of her back, which was likewise scarred brownish-red. The eyes of the latter, who was said to have shown some signs of life after the strike, were immediately cloudy and sunken, and in the left corner of Maria Gufler's right eye, which was otherwise in a perfectly clear state, maggots or small living worms had even already gathered. On the belongings of these unfortunate women, and even on two pictures covered with metal plates, not the slightest damage was found.