Tragedy on the football pitch! Thai player killed by lightning strike during match

The world of football mourns alongside the family of the Thai footballer.

Details: Third-division Thai club Yala's player Safwan Awae tragically lost his life after being struck by lightning during a regional Golok Cup match. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at the Santiphap Stadium in Narathiwat province: as torrential rain poured down, a bolt of lightning suddenly hit the center of the pitch, instantly knocking several players to the ground.

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The 24-year-old winger was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but doctors were unable to save him. Nine more people were injured, including 22-year-old Malaysian footballer Alif Ezzahan Zulkifli. Both Yala and the Football Association of Thailand have already expressed their condolences to the bereaved family and friends. The tragedy is made even more bitter by the fact that Awae had just signed a new contract with the club shortly before the incident.

Unfortunately, lightning strikes on football pitches are not unique: the most famous such case occurred in 1998 in Congo, when lightning struck and killed 11 players from the same team.

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