Lightning struck the Grafton Correctional Institution in northern Ohio on Tuesday night, injuring at least 16 people who were transported to a hospital, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said.
The department said one of the 16 people taken to an outside hospital was airlifted, and that “there have been no reported deaths at this time.”
The strike hit as inmates were returning from their evening meal at the facility about 30 miles southwest of Cleveland, the department said in a statement Tuesday night.
The incident came as thunderstorms and heavy rainfall placed large portions of Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia under flood watches, the National Weather Service said.
The Grafton Correctional Institution opened in 1988 on 1,396 acres, according to its website. Ohio correctional authorities said they are continuing to assess and monitor the situation at the facility, and the conditions of those injured were not immediately clear.