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BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Utah (AP) -- A European man has been killed by lightning while hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park.
The 58-year-old man, whose name has not yet been released, was killed while hiking Thursday with three companions on the Bristlecone Loop near the south end of the park, public information officer Colleen Bathe said.
The day was overcast but there hadn't been any lightning, but about 2 p.m., a bolt flashed and killed the man instantly, Bathe said.
"It was the first bolt that whole afternoon," she said. "It literally struck him and killed him instantly. On either side of him was a 40-foot tree, and it struck him and not the trees. It was unusual."
The three others were not hurt, she said.
Bathe did not know which country the victim was from.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
