Lightning Strike Sends 23 Boy Scouts to Hospital

A lightning strike at a Lakes Region Boy Scout Camp has sent 23 Boy Scouts and three adults to local hospitals, a state spokesman for the Scouting organization confirmed.

"Everybody seems to be doing fine. Nobody was directly hit, but after the strike some Scouts compained of after effects," Greg Osborn, spokesman for the Daniel Webster Council said late Monday night of the incident at Camp Bell on the Griswold Scout Reservation, located at Gilmanton Iron Works,.

Osborn said 23 Scouts were taken to area hospitals for evaluation, along with three adults.

"It was a fast-moving storm that went through the camp quickly, so the boys took shelter as they should, and I guess lightning struck close enough that some of the boys had after effects," Osborn said.

The Scouts are among hundreds of regional campers at the New Hampshire site for a youth leadership event, and range in age from about 14-18, Osborn said.

Camp Bell, which is about 25 miles north of Concord, is a summer camp run by the Daniel Webster Council serving troops from around the region.