Lightning strike turns football match into tragedy
A man has been killed after being struck by lightning while playing a football match. The freak incident happened in the small Thai town of Sungai Golok on Tuesday August 4th.
The Golok FA Cup clash between Abu x Nong Sirin and SAMCOLT was suddenly halted by a gigantic lightning strike which forced the match to be abandoned. However, the terrifying bolt claimed the life of 24-year-old Sofwan Awae who was struck at the Santiphap Stadium.
Team-mates desperately tried to revive him on the pitch with emergency services being called immediately. Tragically, neither his team-mates nor the emergency medical team were able to save his life.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook pag Sungai Golok police chief Thun Sirikhunt announced in a statement:
“Although the emergency medical team made every effort to save him, the victim succumbed to severe injuries sustained in the incident."
Local police forces also confirmed 12 others were injured by the strike and taken to hospital. Video footage of the chilling incident has since gone viral. His fellow players could be seen pushing him onto his back to begin resuscitation efforts after the terrifying blast.
The Football Association of Thailand released a statement after the tragedy which said:
"The association joins in mourning this loss and offers its condolences to the family, those involved and the football club during this time of sorrow."
Yala FC, the opposing team to the one Awae was playing for, also said:
“We extend our condolences to the family of our new FC Yala player, Sofwan Awae."
The incident has similarities to another tragedy in 1998 which was caused by lightning. A football match in the Democratic Republic of Congo saw 11 players from one team be killed by a blast.
Lightning strikes are understood to have claimed the lives of 283 people in Thailand between 2020 and 2024. The Department of Disease Control has also claimed the majority of those people died on the spot, immediately after the strike.
As recently as May, an engineering student and his auntie were killed by lightning when a bolt struck a hut in the province of Lampang. A 30-year-old pregnant woman was also killed by lightning in Uthai Thani province as she took shelter beneath a tree, after returning from a fishing trip with her husband.
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