I put out the embers on his back and elbows and carried him down the path towards the parking lot, with the rest of the group following. I rushed over to him and checked his pulse and breathing. Sean was collapsed and huddled on his knees. “The flash of white light as bright as arc welding, the deafening explosion, the feeling of becoming weightless and being lifted off the ground. Michael McQuilken described about this terrifying experience in his blog saying: Seconds after taking this picture, lightning bolt struck them. At the top of Moro Rock, as Michael’s sister Mary (shown in image above) was taking this picture, the weather got worse and their hair started standing on end, which they did not realize was a sign that lightning was about to hit. 20, 1975, he went on a hiking trip to the Moro Rock in California’s Sequoia National Park, along with his brother Sean and sister Mary. Michael McQuilken was 18-year-old from San Diego, when on Aug. The story is a fact, but has some misinformation. It is also said that another person was killed in that lightning strike on top of Moro Rock. It is said that the boy on the right, Michael McQuilken survived, but the one on the left, Sean died from complications. This is a widely circulated photograph claiming to show two brothers posing for a photo in Sequoia National Park just before they were struck by lightning in August, 1975.

The family was hiking in the Sierra Nevada during August 1975 when the incident occurred. Michael McQuilken (on the right) survived. Two seconds after Mary McQuilken snapped this shot of her brothers posing on top of Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park, California a powerful lightning bolt struck them.Ī hiker just outside the frame was killed and Sean (on the left) eventually also died from complications associated with his injuries. Two brothers pose for a photo in Sequoia National Park moments before getting struck by lightning in August, 1975.

Two Struck Images by Phillip Bryant