After being struck by lightning during a game on Sunday afternoon, a football player in Peru passed away and several others were injured.
Just seconds after the referee had stopped play because of the approaching storm, Jose Hugo de la Cruz Meza, 39, had been participating in a local match between Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca in the central Peruvian town of Huancayo.
According to the Sun, De La Cruz Meza is thought to have died instantly, and other players were hurt when the lightning struck the pitch.
Among those who were directly struck was goalie Juan Chocca Llacta, 40, who is reportedly suffering from severe burns at the Daniel Alcides Carrion regional hospital.
A 24-year-old man named Cristian Cesar Pituy Cahuana and two teenagers, ages 14 and 16, were also brought to the hospital and are reportedly in a “stable condition.”
As the storm grew worse, footage that was making the rounds on social media seemed to show the defender leaving the pitch with the two teams at the Coto Coto stadium in Chilca.
As the storm grew worse, footage that was making the rounds on social media seemed to show the defender leaving the pitch with the two teams at the Coto Coto stadium in Chilca.
Following the incident, the 2-0 match was immediately called off after about eight players were struck by lightning and slumped to the ground.
Cesar Ramos, the area’s Civil Defence manager, told AP that De La Cruz Meza was killed because of the metal bracelet he was wearing.
As the official put it, “it was like a magnet.”
In addition to expressing sympathy for the player’s family and the team, social media tributes urged more safety precautions.
Because the stadium is located in a high-altitude area—the main city of the Huancaya region is 10,659 feet above sea level—fatal lightning strikes are common there, and several commentators advocated for more lightning rods at football stadiums.
Tragedies in comparable situations have occurred at matches all over the world in the past year.
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Source: Adomonline