Rescue officials reported that during a violent electrical storm near the Sydney Opera House on Monday, a lightning bolt struck and incapacitated four individuals who sought shelter beneath a tree in the Botanic Gardens, as confirmed by ambulance workers.

This incident occurred just a short distance from the iconic harbourside architectural masterpiece.

"They all had a brief loss of consciousness," said New South Wales Ambulance Service's Dominic Wong.

They also suffered burns and presented cardiac symptoms, he told reporters.

The victims, two men and two women aged from their late teens to their 30s, were treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Sydney hospitals in a "serious and stable" condition, he said.