Lightning kills 3, possibly tourists, in Ecuador

updated 4:09 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2008

QUITO, Ecuador - Rescue officials said lightning has killed three people visiting a tourist area on the Ruco Pichincha volcano on the outskirts of Ecuador's capital.

Fire Department spokesman Cesar Enriquez said officials haven't yet identified the name or nationality of two men killed in Saturday's strike, but he said they appear to be foreign tourists. A woman who died apparently is Ecuadorean.

An aerial cable car popular with tourists runs up much of the 15,350-foot-high volcano from Ecuador's capital.

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