Lighting throws Oz woman across the room

MELBOURNE - Amid the storm that hit Darwin yesterday, a woman was thrown across the room by lightning.

The lightning appeared to strike in several places in Farrell Cres, where an unharmed but shaken Bobbie Barker was at work.

“The phone rang and I thought this is probably pretty stupid, so I held it out and yelled, ‘There’s a huge bloody storm, call back later,” Northern Territory News quoted her as saying.

“It threw me off the chair and I hit the wall. And I couldn’t get up. I feel like someone has pulled my plug out. I haven’t got any energy. It was just so big. Just right there. It was just massive,” she added explaining about the shock.

In neighbouring business, Quality Marine, both owner Harry Rakkas and employee Daniel Davey saw the two-pronged strike from opposite ends of their building.

Rakkas said he saw lightning hit a telecommunications tower 40 metres away and bounced across on to a power line.

The power had gone out previously for about 15 minutes in Winnellie when the lightning damaged an insulator on a power pole. (ANI)