OUT OF NOWHERE

Soccer Player Dies After Being Struck by Lightning During Game

A witness said the victim’s cleats caught fire when he was hit.

A soccer player died after being struck by lightning during a game in Indonesia over the weekend, reports say.

The fatal on-field strike took place around 15 minutes into a game taking place at the Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung, the capital city of the West Java province, on Saturday. Disturbing footage purportedly showing the incident was widely shared on social media, in which a player can be seen being hit by a bright flash and then collapsing to the ground.

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Local outlet PRFM News said the incident took place during a game between 2 FLO FC Bandung and FBI Subang. The latter posted an Instagram image seemingly paying tribute to one of its players on Sunday, while 2 FLO shared a separate message of condolence identifying the deceased athlete as Septian Raharja.

An eyewitness to the strike told detik.com that people in the stadium dropped to the ground in fear for their lives when the lightning hit. The unconscious victim was carried to the side of the field, the witness said, adding that the man had a reddish-black wound on his chest and his cleats had caught fire. PRFM reported that his jersey was also torn but he was nevertheless still breathing after the strike.

The victim was transferred to a hospital via an ambulance but he was declared dead soon after, the witness said.

A young soccer player taking part in an under-15 competition was also struck by lightning in Indonesia in November, according to Kompas, while another man was reportedly killed by lightning strikes on a soccer game in West Java in 2022.

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