Xanten, Germany - A bolt of lightning struck a re-enactment of Roman times in Germany on Saturday, injuring 13 people. Thousands of people from Germany and the Netherlands had gathered amid the excavated ruins of the Roman town of Colonia Ulpia Traiana on the lower Rhine to see 400 performers act roles as Roman soldiers, gladiators and tradesmen.
Members of the public took shelter under trees in the archaeological park, outside the modern town of Xanten, when a thunderstorm began. The lightning bolt hit between two trees.
Police said four victims suffered serious burns, including a 13-year-old girl who needed resuscitation. Others suffered shock.
Organizers called off the festival, which had been due to continue Sunday. Some 20,000 people had been expected to attend.
The foundations, streets and rubble of Colonia Ulpia Traiana, a town inhabited 2,000 years ago by Roman legions and Germanic Batavi people, are well preserved because no later town was built on the site.
