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Lightning bolt 'scorched and knocked out' four people near Sydney Opera House

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Four people struck by lightning near Sydney Opera House during a violent electrical storm
Four people struck by lightning near Sydney Opera House during a violent electrical storm
Franciscus Tan / Getty Images

A lightning bolt scorched and knocked out four people near the Sydney Opera House on Monday as they sheltered under a tree during a violent electrical storm, rescue officials said.

The four were struck beneath the tree in the Botanic Gardens, ambulance workers said, just a stone's throw from the harbourside architectural masterpiece.

"They all had a brief loss of consciousness," said New South Wales ambulance service's Dominic Wong.

READ | Shark bites woman in rare Sydney Harbour attack

They also suffered burns and presented cardiac symptoms, he told reporters.

The victims - two men and two women aged from their late teens to their 30s - were treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Sydney hospitals in a "serious and stable" condition, he said.

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