Two Brothers Posing for a Photo in Sequoia National Park Moments Before Being Struck by Lightning, 1975

This is the picture of two brothers named Michael and Sean McQuilken. The photo was taken by their sister, using an old Kodak Instamatic camera, on August 20, 1975 in Sequoia National Park in California. A few seconds after this photo the pair were struck by lightning. They both survived.

Michael McQuilken, right, was 18 when he and his brother, Sean, 12, climbed California’s Moro Rock in 1975. The photo was used for years to warn about the dangers of pending lightning strikes.

On August 20, 1975, Michael McQuilken, 18, and his 12-year-old brother, Sean, hiked to the top of Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park, California. They were accompanied by their sister Mary, 15, and her friend Margie. As they reached the summit, the siblings noticed their hair standing on end due to the electrical charges in the atmosphere, a precursor to a lightning strike. Finding the situation amusing, they took photos of each other with their hair standing on end.

Recalling the trip, Michael told NBC News: “At the time, we thought this was humorous. I took a photo of Mary, and Mary took a photo of Sean and me. I raised my right hand into the air and the ring I had on began to buzz so loudly that everyone could hear it.”

Mary McQuilken, 15, was also on Moro Rock on Aug. 20, 1975, although she escaped injury.

Shortly after, the weather deteriorated, with a dramatic drop in temperature and the onset of hail. While they were descending, a lightning bolt struck the group. Michael felt as if he was lifted off the ground, and Sean suffered severe burns with smoke emanating from his back.

“I found myself on the ground with the others,” McQuilken recalled. “Sean was collapsed and huddled on his knees. Smoke was pouring from his back.”

Despite the intense experience, everyone in the group survived the scary freak accident. The pictures from their Kodak captured were sent to local rangers, who then used them in handouts warning hikers about the dangers of lightning strikes atop the granite peaks in the Californian national park.

Being struck by lightning is very unlikely but very dangerous, as the National Weather Service states: “If your hair stands on end, lightning is about to strike you. Drop to your knees and bend forward but don’t lie flat on the ground. We ground is a good conductor of electricity.”