A football player died, and a dozen other players were injured when lightning struck the pitch during a match in Sungai Golok, Thailand; a video that circulated on social media showed.
The incident happened Tuesday at Santiphap Stadium during the Golok Cup, a regional tournament in Narathiwat province. Play was underway between SAMCOLTS and Abu x Nong Sirin in heavy monsoon rain when the storm turned deadly.
Sofwan Awae, a 24-year-old winger for SAMCOLTS, was hit directly by the bolt and collapsed on the field. Footage showed a bright flash and a loud bang as lightning struck close to players running across the pitch.
Footballer’s death reflects growing number of lightning strike victims
Teammates and spectators rushed to Awae and turned him onto his back, trying to revive him before medical crews arrived. He did not survive.
Police chief Thun Sirikhunt said medical staff had done everything they could, but Awae’s injuries were too severe.
🇹🇭 Horrifying moment from Thailand when a freak lightning strike kills a football player and injures 12 others during a match pic.twitter.com/lAwYJxhtUo
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 5, 2026
He confirmed a dozen other players were hurt in the strike, including 22-year-old Malaysian footballer Alif Ezzahan Zulkifli, who suffered burns. All were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Awae had recently signed with FC Yala, a club in the Southern Region of Thailand’s third-tier league. The team posted a tribute on social media, mourning the loss of its newest player and sending condolences to his family.
Deadly lightning also strikes farm workers in eastern India
The footballer’s death adds to a string of fatal lightning strikes recorded across Thailand this year. The country’s Department of Disease Control has reported close to 300 people struck by lightning nationwide between 2020 and 2024, most of whom died instantly.
In May, lightning killed an engineering student and his aunt inside a hut in Lampang province. Days later, a pregnant woman died in Uthai Thani province after she and her husband sheltered under a tree during a storm while walking home from a fishing trip.
The same day as the Thailand match, lightning strikes in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand killed at least 14 people, most of them farm laborers caught in open fields.
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