A YOUNG boy survived a freak lightning strike which killed a man on a beach near Fraser Island Friday night.

The pair was on the beach at Inskip Point between Beagle and Sarawak camping grounds, two popular tourists destinations, when the lightning struck the man about 6.15pm.

It's believed they were among a group of people on the Fraser Coast beach when the lightning hit.

The man died on the beach while the young boy was not seriously injured.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said the boy was alert and conscious when he was taken to Gympie hospital as a precaution.

Manager at the Rainbow Beach Holiday Village Annette Cochrane, 50, said thousands of tourists were at Inskip Point when the lightning struck.

"There are about 3000 people out there at the moment, it is absolutely packed. Rainbow Beach is packed these holidays," she said.

The national park area, which is at the northern tip of Rainbow Beach and is where the ferry barge to Fraser Island is located, is a popular destination for camping.

Last night, a quick but powerful storm hit the area.

"We did have a lot of lightning and at one stage the doors were rattling with thunder," Ms Cochrane said.

"The sky was really black, then we got the thunder and lightning and it was very muggy."

"It didn't last long but it must have been pretty bad out there on the beach," she said.

Ms Cochrane has lived in Rainbow Beach for 16 years and never heard of a fatal lightning strike in the area before.

"It is shocking, it's terrible."

Ashleigh Hunter, from the Rainbow Beach Hotel, said locals and tourists were shocked by the news.

"Everyone is really sad and shocked and pretty upset," she said.

"We heard the strike and then the ambulance went past and we heard one of the customers say that there was a man fishing (when he was struck by lightning)..."

Inskip Point is about 250km north of Brisbane.

The storm came as Queensland's southeast was being warned of extreme weather over the weekend.