Firefighters survey the scene at a Paris park where 11 people were injured. Picture: AFP/Matthieu Alexandre

A fire department spokesman Eric Moulin said that six of the victims were seriously injured.

Of those seriously injured — which included four children and two adults — four of them were in life-threatening condition.

Paris fire department cars are parked at the entrance of the Parc Monceau where 11 people — including eight children — were struck by lightning. picture: AFP/Matthieu AlexandreSource:AFP

Moulin said a further five people were slightly injured, including four children and another adult.

The accident happened at Parc Monceau as a thunder storm rumbled over the French capital. The park, in a well-heeled neighbourhood of the city’s northwest, is popular with families during weekends.

Fire chief Eric Moulin speaks to journalists near the Parc Monceau in Paris after 11 people were struck by lightning. Picture: AFP/Matthieu AlexandreSource:AFP

Witness Vincent Baladi who handles security matters in Paris’ eighth arrondissement where the park is located, told iTELE television that the victims had been “struck by lightning”.

“We have six (children) who urgently need medical treatment but we hope they will all pull through,” Baladi said.

“They have burns,” he said, adding that paramedics and firefighters were at the scene. “The lightning struck suddenly.”

Meanwhile, lightning also struck a football field in western Germany overnight, injuring 35 people, three of them seriously, news agency DPA reported.

The accident happened at the end of a children’s football match in Hoppstaedten, DPA said, citing police.

The umpire of the children’s match was hit directly by the lightning and was rushed to hospital

Police and fire department personnel gather near Parc Monceau in Paris after lightning struck, injuring 11. picture: AFP/Matthieu AlexandreSource:AFP