Father killed, family injured in lightning strike at polling booth
Two adults and two children were injured by a lightning strike on the Gold Coast. (9NEWS) 9NEWS
A Gold Coast father struck by lightning along with his young family has died.
The 39-year-old's two children and their mother are in a stable condition in hospital, police say.
The Highland Park family was sheltering from a severe storm under a park shed near Worongary State School when the structure was struck at about 4pm.
It's believed the father took a direct hit, with electricity then travelling into the others, including a toddler aged 18 months and a 12-week-old baby, a Queensland Ambulance spokesperson told the ABC.
The nearby school was used as a polling booth for the state election.
The tragedy comes as large hailstones and destructive winds pound parts of southeast Queensland.
Severe storms with golf-ball sized hail have hit Ipswich and south Brisbane.
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