Lightning Strike Kills Footballer, Injures 6 Others During Cup Match

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A footballer has been killed and six others injured after a lightening bolt struck a pitch in Brazil during a cup match. 

Caio Henrique de Lima Goncalves, 21, was playing for his Uniao Jaiirense team in a cup fixture in the southern state of Parana when he was jolted by the lightning strike on Sunday.

He was rushed to hospital after collapsing on the pitch but he later died of his injuries, police in Santo Antonio da Platina said.

Chilling footage recorded moments after the lightening strike shows the pitch littered with stricken players and officials desperately racing to get them to safety and medical treatment. 

The stormy weather continued as the officials carried the collapsed players off the pitch, with the threat of a second lightning strike seeming possible at any moment.

Goncalves had been playing for his Uniao Jaiirense team against Unidos, from Santo Antonio da Platina, on Sunday in an amateur cup fixture at the Jose Eleuterio da Silva stadium when the lightning stuck.

Five of the six players who were struck by the lightening are still in a local hospital under observation, while a sixth more seriously injured player was rushed to a regional hospital. 

In a statement, Santo Antonio da Platina city hall mourned Goncalves’ death and said that it is “making every effort to ensure that those affected have the best possible care.”

Whilst rare, there have been other cases of people being killed in lightning strikes in recent months.

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