Popular Oklahoma Swimming Hole Struck by Lightning, Sending Group of Girls to Hospital

Four young girls were taken to hospitals after getting struck by lightning Saturday morning while swimming at a park in Oklahoma. 

The Grand River Dam Authority Police Department said the girls were struck around 10:45 a.m. on Saline Creek at Blue Hole Park, located in the northeastern Oklahoma town of Saline.

Two girls were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Tulsa while the other two girls were taken by personal vehicles to a hospital in nearby Pryor, according to KTUL. The ages of the children were not revealed.

The sheriff’s department, two local fire departments and an emergency services unit responded to assist the river authority’s police department.

The weather in Mayes County, where the swimming hole is located, was overcast and rainy throughout the morning, on Saturday, according to the Kansas City Star. 

Swimming during thunderstorms is generally considered unsafe because of the way that water conducts electric currents. The Centers for Disease Control advises that when people hear thunder or notice storm conditions, they should stop swimming and head for the shore. 

Approximately 40 million lightning strikes hit the ground each year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The odds of a person getting struck by lightning in one year are less than 1 in 1,000,000, and 90 percent of those who get struck survive, CDC states.

Oklahoma has the fourth-most lightning strikes in the country per year, following Texas, Florida and Louisiana.

There are currently no updates on the girls' conditions.