VENICE BEACH (KTLA)

One person has died and seven others were hospitalized after being struck by lightning at Venice Beach on Sunday afternoon amid a rare series of thunderstorms in Southern California, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The incident occurred at about 2:50 p.m. in the 3500 block of South Ocean Front Walk (map), LAFD spokeswoman Katherine Main said.

Initially, the fire department said as many as three people had been hit by lightning and injured. The number was later revised to seven, and then increased to nine, but 13 were assessed at the scene, CNN reported.

Of those looked over at the beach, eight were taken to local hospitals, including one victim who was 15. One of the adults was in grave condition, while another was listed in critical, Main said. The six other patients were reported to be in stable condition.

His identity has not yet been released.A 20-year-old man later died of his injures, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

First responders also located a swimmer who had been missing, and that person was among those transported, according to Main.

Photos from the scene appeared to show lifeguards performing CPR on one man who was lying in the sand.

Twitter user Katie Hawkins tweeted a picture of a lifeguard vehicle with the caption, “Lifeguard just drove passed giving CPR on man. Unsure of status.”

“Cloud to ground” lightning has been reported over Marina Del Rey and LAX, according to the National Weather Service, which was also urging anyone who heard thunder in the area to stay indoors.

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