Footballer dies aged 24 and 12 extra injured as devastating lightning strikes throughout match
A tragedy has unfolded during a football match in Thailand which has claimed the life of one player on the pitch
A football player has been killed by a lightning strike(Image: Facebook)
A 24-year-old man has been killed after being struck by lightning while playing football. Thai national Sofwan Awae lost his life on the football pitch after being caught by a devastating strike on Tuesday, August 4th.
He was playing for amateur side SAMCOLTS against Abu x Nong Sirin in a Golok FA Cup game at the Santiphap Stadium. As the match was ongoing, a massive bolt struck the football pitch, killing him and injuring 12 others.
Team-mates, opposing players and spectators did their best to roll him onto his back and begin CPR before emergency services arrived. The efforts of all involved were not enough to save his life.
Sofwan Awae was only 24(Image: Facebook/@FCYala)
Sungai Golok police chief Thun Sirikhunt revealed 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 law enforcement also confirmed that 12 others were injured by the strike and taken to hospital. Video footage of the chilling event has since gone viral.
His fellow players can be seen turning him onto his back to commence resuscitation efforts following the terrifying blast.
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The Football Association of Thailand issued a statement after the tragedy, saying: “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 team opposing Awae’s side, also expressed: “We extend our condolences to the family of our new FC Yala player, Sofwan Awae.”
The incident bears resemblance to another tragedy in 1998 caused by lightning. A football match in the Democratic Republic of Congo witnessed 11 players from one team perish due to a blast.
Lightning strikes are believed to have taken the lives of 283 individuals in Thailand between 2020 and 2024. The Department of Disease Control has also stated that the majority of these people died instantly, immediately following the strike.
As recently as May, an engineering student and his aunt were killed by lightning when a bolt hit a hut in the province of Lampang.
A 30-year-old pregnant woman was also killed by lightning in Uthai Thani province as she sought shelter under a tree, after returning from a fishing trip with her husband.
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