Lightning Bolt Tears Across the Sky Over Ecuador Parking Lot

A bolt of lightning struck near a parking lot at José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on February 26.

Gabriela Palma Nieto recorded this video, which shows cars’ alarms sounding before the jagged flash of lightning streaks across the sky.

She told Storyful that she was filming the torrential rain when suddenly there was a loud noise and the lightning struck.

“I closed my eyes when I saw the lightning,” Palma Nieto said. “We were surprised and stunned because none of us had experienced anything like that.”

Palma Nieto and her family decided to shelter inside the airport for safety until the storm had passed, she said. Credit: Gabriela Palma Nieto via Storyful