Frightening Footage: Soccer Player Struck Dead by Lightning During Game in Indonesia
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A harrowing video taken in Indonesia during a soccer match on Saturday shows the moment a player was fatally struck by lightning.
It’s a clip that should remind American sports fans why there are lightning delays during football games and other events — delays that often annoy impatient fans such as myself.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail reported the strike and subsequent death happened Saturday in Bandung, West Java. As fans gathered in Siliwangi Stadium to watch an exhibition game, disaster struck.
Septain Raharja, 35, was hit by lightning at around 4:20 p.m. local time.
WARNING: The following video is deeply disturbing and shows an event leading up to a person being killed.
Raharja can be seen standing at the top of the screen as his team begins to advance the ball.
A lightning bolt struck him, and the shock was so intense that it obscured him from the view of the camera for a brief moment.
A soccer player from Indonesia was killed by lightning#BREAKING #BREAKING_NEWS #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/19MBNwRWC9
— Fun Lover (@retweetingbreak) February 12, 2024
He collapsed immediately.
According to the Mail, which cited local media reporting, Raharja was still breathing on the field after he was struck.
But he tragically died from severe burns after he was rushed to a local hospital. It is unknown who is still mourning his sudden passing a week later.
But Raharja’s death is a reminder of just how powerful lightning is and why American sports leagues and governing bodies make it a point to delay events when there is even the slightest chance of such a strike.
In October, my Oklahoma Sooners traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, for a game they ultimately lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 38-33.
Oklahoma had momentum leading up to a lengthy weather delay because of lightning in the area during a heavy rain storm that was not severe.
Play has been suspended as we enter a lightning delay ⛈️ #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/fGVRLJAbPJ
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 28, 2023
Many shortsighted fans such as myself would groan and immediately blame the loss on the weather delay when in reality the right call was made to stop play until an appropriate amount of time had passed without a lightning strike in the area.
The video of Raharja’s death is a tragic reminder that lightning is not something to take lightly and that human life is so much more precious than any game.
The National Weather Service notes that a typical lightning flash is juiced at roughly 300 million volts and roughly 30,000 amps.
Compare that to a typical household electric current, which is roughly 120 volts and 15 amps.
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