iPod saves teenage girl's life from lightning strike
Sophie Frost, 14, escapes with minor burns after her MP3 player's headphones divert deadly blast away from her body
19 June 2009
TALK about striking it lucky: a teenager’s life has been saved after her iPod headphones diverted a deadly lightning bolt.
•Wembley flat struck by lightning
•Heathrow jet struck by lightning
Sophie Frost, 14, was hiding beneath a tree with her boyfriend during a storm when the 300,000-volt blast struck, knocking her unconscious.
But miraculously she escaped with just minor burns and singed hair after the bolt’s energy ripped through her MP3 player’s headphone cable.
Her clothes suffered a dramatic burn all the way down the front, and the shocked teenager was rushed to a specialist burns unit, but doctors say she will make a full recovery, perhaps without even a visible scar.
Sophie, of Southend, Essex, said: “I don’t remember a thing about what happened, but from what everyone tells me it’s a miracle I’m still here.
“Everybody’s said the iPod must have diverted the lightning away from my body, which probably saved my life. I’ve got a few burns, but it’s all healing OK.”
Her boyfriend, Mason Billington, also 14, who was holding her hand at the time, was also knocked out cold by the blast and suffered eye damage, although this may only be temporary.
Sophie’s mum, Julie, said: “I just thank God my daughter is still alive.
“The doctors say her iPod saved her. Her nan only bought it a few days ago. Luckily, she wasn’t actually wearing the headphones. If she had been, she might not be here today.
“Mind you, the only thing Sophie seemed worried about was that her new iPod was frazzled.”
An average of three people are killed each year in Britain by lightning strikes. The worst year on record was 1982, in which 14 people died.
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