Paramedics transported the 24-year-old woman to Wollongong Hospital about 4.15pm Thursday after she became violently ill at the Corrimal Street restaurant.

Earlier, at City Beach, the woman had pressed a metal shower tap so her young son could rinse off.

She was standing in water, with her other hand on the shower’s metal pole, when she felt a tingling sensation throughout her body. At the same time, her friend saw her fall backwards onto the ground, as if thrown.

Illawarra Ambulance District Inspector Terry Morrow said there was no corresponding flash of light or burns to the woman’s body.

“It’s an unusual one,” he said. 

“There’s no indication that there was a lightning strike in her direction, or on her, at any stage.

“But there is a possibility of a lightning strike that has gone through the piping and through the hand whilst she was showering her child. 

“I have seen things like this. 

“It’s rare, but it does occur.”

The woman was visiting the region from Narellan.

NSW Ambulance paramedics were called when her condition worsened. She was assessed at the restaurant and underwent further testing at Wollongong Hospital, but did not require admission.