A 24-year-old Thai footballer died and at least nine other individuals, including a Malaysian national, suffered injuries after being struck by lightning in the middle of the pitch during a regional cup match in southern Thailand, the police stated.
Sofwan Awae, a winger who recently signed up with the third-tier Yala FC, was in a critical condition upon the arrival of the officers at Santiphap Stadium in Sungai Golok on Tuesday evening, according to the Sungai Golok police chief Col. Thun Sirikhunt.
“Although the emergency medical team made every effort to save him, the victim succumbed to severe injuries sustained in the incident,” Thun told Bernama, the Malaysian state news agency.
The lightning strike occurred during the semi-final match of the Golok FA Cup, an amateur competition with teams from both sides of the Thailand-Malaysia border. Awae played for the mixed Thai-Malaysian team SAMCOLTS against Abu x Nong Sirin when the rain poured heavily over the pitch around 5 p.m. local time, Thun said. The police received the emergency phone call about half an hour later.
The amateur video footage uploaded on the Internet captures the players moving in the rain before the lightning strikes the middle of the pitch with a loud explosion that sends several players to the ground. The teammates help Awae, who is lying face down on the ground, into a supine position and try to revive him while spectators move onto the pitch.
Several sources give different figures for the victims. Initially, Thun said that more than nine individuals were injured; later the police gave the figure of 12 people injured, several of them sustained burns. One of the injured was the 22-year-old Malaysian player Mohamad Alif Ezzahan Zulkifli. The victims were hospitalized in the Sungai Golok Hospital. Awae’s name appears to be Safwan in some sources.
According to the police, a doctor did a post-mortem examination of the body under the procedure of law, and an investigation was launched.
Awae signed for Yala FC, which competes in Thai League 3 Southern Division, on July 29. The player previously played for Pattani FC last season, scoring seven goals in 18 matches for the club that was promoted to Thai League 2.
“We extend our condolences to the family of our new FC Yala player, Sofwan Awae,” stated the club in a Facebook post. It opens with the Quran verse usually quoted in such cases: “Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we will return.”
The Football Association of Thailand offered condolences to Awae’s family and to the club.
