Lightning Strike at Concert Injures 11

Lightning struck a stadium where more than 50,000 people were attending a Tibetan aid concert, shattering concrete and injuring at least 11 people. A 25-year-old woman was in critical condition in a hospital burn unit after being directly hit by lightning in the stands at Washington’s RFK Stadium. The others were in good or fair condition or had been treated and released. Sam Jordan of the District of Columbia Office of Emergency Preparedness said the storm swept in so suddenly there was little his office could do to warn organizers. “It came so fast. It was on the ground too quick.” Spectators huddled in the stadium’s indoor corridors while the concert was suspended. The fans were attending the first day of the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert, a prelude to what organizers have billed as the largest rally ever held for Tibet, scheduled for Monday on the Capitol’s west lawn.