WATCH: Lightning strike sends airport worker to hospital

Thursday, August 3, 2017, 8:05 PM - An airport worker in Florida has been released from hospital after being struck by lightning last month.

Dramatic viral footage of the strike emerged in recent days, showing the exact moment the incident occurred on the tarmac at Southwest Florida International Airport on July 21. 

The worker, identified as 21-year-old Austin Dunn, was working near the front landing gear of an airplane operated by Sun Country Airlines when a bolt of lighting struck the tail of the craft. It was conducted through the plane's fuselage to Dunn, who was thrown backwards.

WATCH BELOW: The moment the lightning bolt struck the grounded aircraft

Dunn was hospitalized with third degree burns over his body. NBC2 reports Dunn was discharged from hospital within the past few days. Global News adds Dunn also suffered from nerve and brain damage.

It's unclear why Dunn and at least two other workers were out on the tarmac as severe weather approached. NBC2 says the trio and the aircraft they were servicing were the only ones out in the storm when the lightning struck, and the airport's lightning warning system had been activated.

Lightning claims several lives per year. In the U.S., more than 300 people -- 250 men and 66 women -- have died after being struck by lightning since 2007, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In Canada, there are an average nine or 10 lightning deaths per year, along with more than 160 injuries, according to Environment Canada.

SOURCE: NBC2 | Global News | NOAA | Environment Canada