Footballer Dies After Being Struck By Lightning During Match

Footballer Dies After Being Struck By Lightning During Match 

By Admin

A 39-year-old Peruvian footballer died after he was struck by lightning during a match on Nov 3, with four others left injured by the thunderbolt.

One of the goalkeepers who was injured in the incident is being treated for serious burns, while three other players aged 14, 16 and 24 are in stable condition at the hospital.

The player who died was identified as Hugo De La Cruz, a defender for Juventud Bellavista.

The local municipality, in a statement reported by CNN, said: “We join in solidarity and extend our sincere condolences to the family of young Hugo De La Cruz, who, after being struck by lightning, unfortunately lost his life while being taken to the hospital.

“We also express our support and wishes for a speedy recovery to the other four players injured in this tragic accident.”

The game was being played at Coto Coto stadium in the town of Chilca, about 70km south-east of the Peruvian capital Lima, and had just been ordered to pause due to the storm, CNN reported.

In video footage of the incident broadcast by local TV station Onda Deportiva Huancavelic, football players can be seen walking on the pitch in the 22nd minute of a match between local teams Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca.

A bright flash and loud sound is heard and one of the players is engulfed in smoke in what appears to be a small explosion.

In that instant, seven other players are seen to fall over at the same time as the players further away run offscreen. Following this, some of the players can be seen struggling to get to their feet.

The video then cuts to a spot on the ground where the lightning appears to have struck, with footage from earlier in the match where thunder can be heard rumbling.

How were the other players injured?

Lightning can produce what is known as a ground current when it strikes the ground or an object on the ground, said the United States National Weather Service website.

The discharge of electricity then occurs in and along the ground surface, creating the dangerous and potentially deadly ground current near where the lightning strikes.

This phenomenon is responsible for “many lightning deaths and injuries”, as well as the deaths of many farm animals.

The local authorities believe Mr De La Cruz may have been struck by the bolt of lightning because of a metal bracelet he was wearing at the time, with an official saying it was “like a magnet”, reported British daily The Telegraph.

In February, an Indonesian footballer died after being struck by lightning during a match at the Siliwangi Stadium in the city of Bandung, about 150km south of Jakarta.

In a similar incident in Singapore more than two decades ago, Jiang Tao, an 18-year-old player with the now-defunct Chinese S-League club Sinchi FC, was killed in March 2004 after he was struck by lightning during training at the Jurong Stadium, which has since been demolished.

-SportsVillagesquare