The Latest: Child on life support after lightning strike

PARIS – The Latest on the lightning strike that struck 11 people at a park in Paris. (all times local):

10:15 p.m.

An emergency doctor in Paris says one child is on life support after 11 people were hit by lightning during a child’s birthday party at a park in Paris.

Still, Dr. Pierre Carli tells journalists at a press conference on Saturday night that he has some “good news:” three other seriously injured children at the party are now out of immediate danger and are under observation. Four other children who were lightly wounded by the lightning strike are “simply under observation.”

He says two men and one woman at the party were also injured and the woman was the mother of some of the injured children. Carli did not give reporters an update on the adults’ conditions, one of whom was previously described by a fire official as suffering from life-threatening injuries.

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8:15 p.m.

Footage shot by the fire service in Paris shows a dramatic scene at a bank that was commandeered as a makeshift treatment centre after eight children and three adults were hit by lightning during a child’s birthday party.

Children wrapped in gold thermal blankets lay on the bank’s tiled floor as firefighters administered first aid before evacuating the victims to area hospitals in Paris. Two small feet, smudged with what looked like soot, stuck out from underneath one of the blankets.

Paris fire service spokesman Eric Moulin gave the children’s ages as around 9 years old and said four people — three children and one adult — are in life-threatening condition after the afternoon lightning strike at Park Monceau.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw an abandoned pair of children’s glasses and jacket near the tree where party-goers had sought shelter. White-and-red tape was strung around the area and whistle-blowing park wardens ushered weekend joggers out of the park, which was swiftly closed.

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6:20 p.m.

One Paris resident says it was a wild spring storm that sent lightning bolts crashing down onto a Paris park, striking 11 people at a child’s birthday party.

Jean-Louis Laurens, who lives near the city’s Park Monceau, says Saturday that it’s rather rare to see such a storm hitting the French capital like that. He says “it was dramatic.”

Paris fire service spokesman Eric Moulin says the victims include eight children. He says six of those hit are seriously injured, including four children and two adults — and four of them are in life-threatening condition. He says five other people have been slightly injured by the lightning, including four children.

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6:05 p.m.

A Paris fire service spokesman says an off-duty fireman ran immediately to the scene after a lightning strike disrupted a child’s birthday party in a park.

Eric Moulin says the fireman saw nine of the 11 victims prone on the ground under a tree at Park Monceau, a popular weekend hangout for well-to-do families in Paris. He said the fireman administered first aid, including heart massages, and helped direct rescuers to the scene.

Moulin says “without his actions, it would have been much worse.”

Moulin says six of those struck by lightning are seriously injured, including four children and two adults — and four of them are in life-threatening condition. He says a further five people are slightly injured, including four children and another adult.

He gave the children’s ages as around 9 years old.

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5:40 p.m.

A Paris fire service spokesman says 11 people including eight children have been hit by lightning in a Paris park after a sudden spring storm overtook a child’s birthday party.

The victims had sought shelter Saturday under a tree at Park Monceau, a popular weekend hangout for well-to-do families in Paris.

Spokesman Eric Moulin says six of those struck by lightning were seriously injured, including four children and two adults — and four of them were in life-threatening condition. He said a further five people were slightly injured, including four children and another adult.