Siblings Struck By Lighting While Taking Selfie; Harrowing Moment Caught On Camera

Three siblings who were on a selfie spree while sheltering underneath a tree during a storm have perhaps taken the most dangerous photo of their lives after a bolt of lightning struck them and they caught the moment on camera.

Rachel, Isobel and Andrew Jobson were sheltering under a tree due to heavy rain in East Molesey when a lightning flash struck them. The trio who were on bicycles had stopped for a bathroom break in Molesey while on their way to see their aunt.

Moments before the incident, the siblings took a selfie of themselves smiling into the camera. "We then wanted a sad picture in the rain," said Isobel, reported BBC. "All of a sudden, I was on the ground and couldn’t hear anything apart from this high-pitched buzzing."

Isobel, 23, told the outlet that they were struck by the bolt at 5:05 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET).

"We were taking the picture with our phone and then the next thing, I was on the ground. I felt disjointed. My sister and I were screaming," said the eldest sibling Rachel, 26, to BBC. "I got burnt on my thigh and stomach and it's left lightning-like marks behind on me and my sister. I couldn't feel my arm."

The siblings did not sustain any life-threatening injuries. Samaritans in the area helped them until paramedics arrived and took them to St George’s Hospital in Tooting. The trio was discharged from the hospital after few hours, reported the New York Post.

The family was told that a titanium plate surgically implanted in Isobel’s arm due to a bicycle accident last year might have attracted the lightning. “My sister’s arm was very hot because of the plate. Everyone was amazed at what had happened to us,” Rachel told BBC.

The Jobson siblings have not decided if they want to resume their cycling trip but said they would return to the spot to thank the owner of a nearby café who helped them after the incident.

In the UK, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents states, about 30 to 60 people are struck by lightning each year. On average, only 5-10% of the strikes are fatal.