Creationist museum employee struck by lightning as he tried to shut down attraction

Zip line worker left with tingling arm after being hit in storm

Staff were rushing to close the site as storm swept in

An employee at a Creation museum has been hit by lightning as he tried to close one of the attractions at the Kentucky museum.



The zip line worker was holding a line on the ground near some visitors when he was struck by lightning as a storm moved in quicker than predicted at about 1pm on Wednesday.



The employee, who has not yet been named, was taken to hospital and is expected to recover from his injuries.



Struck: A zip line employee was hit as he tried to close off the attraction before a storm

'We were in the process of responding to the bad weather, but it just got here a lot faster than we were able to respond to,' Mike Zovath, the Petersburg museum's vice-president, told Fox 19 .

A park official said the electricity from the lightning jumped to the zip line and shocked an employee for the company that runs the zip wire.



The man remained conscious but had trouble feeling his hand and was left with a tingling sensation in his arm, according to NBC News .

'The electricity generated by the lightning knocked him down and caused some concern,' Mr Zovath said.



A child who was visiting the museum, which has lifelike recreations of Bible scenes and a dinosaur park, said he was waiting to play on one the zip lines with his brother when the storm hit.



Concern: Mike Zovath, vice-president of the museum, says his colleague was knocked to the ground

'They said we had to wait until it passed because it could have been dangerous because all of the aluminum and metal around. And then there was a big thunder and we really had to wait,' Titus Vanwingerden said.

The zip lines are a relatively new addition to the museum's attractions. They were opened at the start of the summer and take visitors across a three-acre lake.



In a statement on the attraction's Facebook page a spokesman said: 'The safety of our guests is our highest priority, and it is our policy to routinely clear the zip lines in inclement weather. This was the case today, and we are thankful no one was seriously injured as a result.'

The Creationist Museum was not the only place to be struck by lightning in Kentucky. A father and daughter were in their home when it was struck, and a chimney was demolished when it was hit by lightning about a mile away.



Attraction: The zip lines are a new feature at Kentucky's Creation Museum, which recreates Biblical stories

The museum employee who was hit is said to be back home and doing well. Shortly after the storm, the skies cleared and the zip lines reopened.



'We are fortunate that there wasn't any serious injury and we always praise the Lord that he's watching over everybody here,' Mr Zovath told NBC News.