THAI FOOTBALLER DIES ON THE PITCH IN SOUTHERN THAILAND AFTER BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

 

Thai winger Sofwan Awae, who had just signed with Yala FC, died on Aug 4 after lightning struck the field of play. PHOTOS: FCYALAOFFICIAL/FACEBOOK, COURTESY OF ABDUL BASIR CHEPOR

A Thai footballer died on the pitch after a lightning strike that also left 12 others injured, according to Thai police.

The incident happened on Aug 4 during a Golok Cup match played at Santiphap Stadium in Sungai Golok, southern Thailand, between SAMCOLTS and Abu x Nong Sirin. The Golok Cup is a regional football tournament featuring local and mixed teams from Thailand and Malaysia.

Winger Sofwan Awae, a recent signing for Thai third-tier professional side Yala FC, was playing for SAMCOLTS. He was struck by lightning at around 5.30pm as the match was ongoing.

Images circulated online show a bright light streak appearing to hit an area of the pitch inside the penalty area.

The 24-year-old’s teammates, wearing a black-and-white team strip, can be seen flipping him onto his back and attempting to revive him in the middle of the field.

“Although the emergency medical team made every effort to save him, the victim succumbed to severe injuries sustained in the incident,” said Sungai Golok police chief Thun Sirikhunt, as cited by Bernama.

He said 12 others, including one Malaysian footballer, were injured and taken to hospital.

Sofwan’s club Yala FC and the Football Association of Thailand shared condolence messages with the player’s family.

In Singapore, Category 1 weather status alerts are triggered by the Met Service’s islandwide detection networks, mandating an immediate stop of play and clearance of open fields or public pools.

Singapore has one of the highest lightning strike rates in the world. Annually, there are on average 175 days when lightning is detected in Singapore, based on Meteorological Service Singapore’s records.

In March 2004, before the Cat 1 alerts were implemented, Jiang Tao, an 18-year-old player with the now-defunct Chinese S-League club Sinchi FC, was killed after he was struck by lightning during training at the Jurong Stadium, which has since been demolished.

In 1996, Mohd Amin Mohd Salleh, a Secondary 2 student of Pioneer Secondary School, died after being struck by lightning when playing football on the school field.

- Lok Jian Wen