A 58-YEAR-OLD man has died after being struck by lightning out in the countryside in Guadahortuna (Granada province).
He had gone out late in the evening with his wife and daughters to check the state of his crops – mainly almond trees - after violent storms battered the southernmost region of Andalucía.
His family called emergency services at around 20.45 on Sunday night, saying he had been struck whilst walking back to his car along a narrow country lane in a flat area with no trees or buildings taller than him, meaning he was the focal point for the bolt of lightning.
Paramedics arrived at the scene, but they found the man had been killed instantly.
Mayoress of Guadahortuna, Josefa Caballero, said the victim was well-known and much-loved among the village's 2,000 inhabitants.
The storm had not caused damage in the area, despite violent hailstorms, and no other farmers had been harmed when they had gone out to check their crops.
