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A German tourist was killed after being struck by lightning at Bryce Canyon National Park on Thursday afternoon.

Volker Kunz, 51, of Hamm, Germany, was hiking with his family on the Rim Trail near Sunset Point just before 12:30 p.m. when an isolated thunderstorm quickly approached the area, park spokesman Dan Ng said in a news release.

The family saw the thunderstorm and moved to their car to get out of the rain. Kunz sought refuge under a large ponderosa pine tree, Ng said.

"Lightning directly struck the tree Mister Kunz was standing under and its energy was transferred to him," Ng said.

Family members called for help at the nearby Bryce Canyon Lodge.

Before emergency crews arrived, a registered nurse and her husband in the area found no pulse and performed CPR.

Garfield County authorities arrived and continued CPR while transporting the victim the 25 miles to Garfield Memorial Hospital in Panguitch, where he was pronounced dead.

Kunz leaves behind a wife and two sons.

Elsewhere in Utah, lightning injured a Weber County construction worker Friday.

The Granite Construction worker was getting into his truck in West Haven when lightning struck and threw him away from the vehicle, causing injuries that were deemed "serious," said Weber County Fire District Capt. Casey Naef.

The man was transported to a hospital.

Twitter: @CimCity

Gina Barker contributed to this story.