#9-year-old Georgia girl dies in a lightning strike

A 9-year-old Georgia girl was killed and her older sister was seriously injured by a lightning bolt, officials said.

Nicol Mateo Pedro was walking along a trail with her 15-year-old sister and mother when a storm suddenly moved into the area Friday in Moultrie, news station WSB-TV reported.

They sought refuge under a wooden shelter on the path to wait out the storm, but lightning struck a pine tree next to them as Nicol sat on a bench, the outlet reported.

She was pronounced dead at Colquitt Regional Medical Center, while her sister was airlifted with serious burns to John Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital of Augusta, according to the Colquitt County coroner.

Her mother and others who were huddled under the shelter were not injured in the incident, the report said.