Emergency crews attended an East End beauty spot yesterday after a man was hurt as a result of a lightning strike.

Luca Legrenzi, who witnessed the incident, said the man was standing on a firepit near the Sunjammers restaurant and bar when lightning struck, knocking him to the ground.

“Everyone was enjoying the beach and having a great time,” he said. “The rain started to trickle in and there was a little bit of lightning.

“At that point, the life guards basically got everyone out of the water and off the beach. The moment there is lightning you cannot be in the water.”

Mr Legrenzi said that while most of the beachgoers moved to Sunjammers, one family moved to a covered firepit near by.

“The guy was standing on the grill. At that moment, lightning struck down in that general area.

“I believe it passed through the building and him, and he fell to the ground.”

He said that the injured man was immediately tended to by a family member, whom he understood worked in a trauma department, and a doctor who happened to be at the bar, while staff at Sunjammers called 911.

However, Mr Legrenzi said it appeared that the man had escaped serious injury in the strike.

“He had an injury to the top of his head, his forehead area. I think that was from falling to the ground,” he said.

Mr Legrenzi said the man also appeared to have suffered a burn to his leg, which he described as looking like road rash.

While the injured man initially complained about a loss of sensation, Mr Legrenzi said his feeling had begun to return before emergency services arrived on the scene.

“Everyone was extremely surprised because the lightning could be felt by everyone at the bar,” he said.

“The impact could physically be felt by everyone under the cover. There was a burning scent, possibly from the tree near by.”

Jamal Albuoy, the duty principal officer for the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, said that a call for assistance was received just before 2.40pm.

He said that a four-person crew from Clearwater attended an area near Sunjammers, and the injuries sustained by the man were not thought to be life-threatening.

“Once they did the assessment, the ambulance was right behind them; it got handed over to the ambulance personnel,” he added.

Phil Rogers, a meteorologist with the Bermuda Weather Service, said that the island was experiencing a slow-moving area of unstable weather, which brought showers and thunderstorms.

“This unstable weather is expected to continue to affect Bermuda into the weekend with periods of showers and thundershowers continuing,” he added.