Four people have been critically injured after a lightning strike in a park outside the White House in Washington DC.
Two men and two women were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after the incident in Lafayette Square on Thursday evening (local time).
The lightning struck the four people near a tree that stands yards away from a fence that surrounds the US presidential residence and offices.
Officers with the Secret Service and US Park Police witnessed the lightning strike and ran over to offer first aid, the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said.
