A footballer has died after being struck by a lightning bolt while playing football in Indonesia on Saturday.
Video captured the exact moment the 35-year-old male victim from Subang collapsed at Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung, West Java.
The man, later identified as Septain Raharja, was competing in a friendly football match between 2 FLO FC Bandung and FBI Subang, when lightning struck him at around 4:20pm local time on Saturday.
Reports by local media PRFM News say that he was still breathing after the incident and rushed to a local hospital, but died after suffering intense burns.
The video clip has since gone viral on social media, with football fans and players offering their condolences.
A chilling video captured the exact moment the 34-year-old male footballer was struck
‘RIP to that player,’ commented one X user.
‘This is the stuff of my nightmares. I lived through the San Francisco ‘Quake of ’89’ that ended game 3 of the Baseball World Series,’ wrote another.
A third replied: ‘That’s awful and condolences. In my referee days I always kept an eye on the weather, it’s in the FIFA manual I believe. For exactly this reason. Don’t know if that was possible here or if there was a ref. This video will make it’s way to FIFA and ref associations everywhere.’
Several teams in Indonesia were seen taking a moment of silence in Septain’s memory.
A match between FBI Mageland and Erka began with players bowing their heads to commemorate the fallen sportsman.
An analysis of the strike by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) revealed that the cloud the lightning came from was just 300m above the stadium when it struck.
The tragic incident is the second time an Indonesian footballer has been struck by lightning in the last 12 months.
A young football player in Bojonegoro, East Java was struck by lightning during the Soeratin U-13 Cup in 2023.
The player, who suffered cardiac arrest, was rushed off the field and taken to the Ibnu Sina Hospital in Bojonegoro for medical treatment.
The youngster was successfully revived after medical assistance and regained consciousness after approximately 20 minutes.
The man was competing in a friendly football match between 2 FLO FC Bandung and FBI Subang at Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung, West Java (pictured)
In 2023, a 21-year-old Brazilian footballer was also struck by lightning while on the pitch in Brazil.
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
He was rushed to hospital after collapsing on the pitch, but he later died of his injuries.
Six other players on the pitch were also struck by the bolt of lightning and spent time in hospital afterwards.
Footballers being stuck by lightning: A regularly occurring phenomenon?
Footballers being stuck by lightning could be considered a regularly occurring phenomenon
In October 1998, Bena Tshadi were drawing 1-1 with visitors Basanga in Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Reports at the time said a bolt of lightning struck and killed 11 people (both players and spectators) while a further 30 received burns.
The reports were initially published in daily newspaper L’Avenir in Kinshasa but were never officially confirmed.
That same weekend, a premier league football match in Johannesburg, South Africa, was brought to an abrupt end when lightning struck the ground.
Seven players and the referee were sent sprawling to the turf holding their eyes and ears during the game between the Jomo Cosmos and the Moroka Swallows.
Spectators and coaching staff ran onto the pitch to help and in this instance, fortunately no one was killed.
There was even an incident early this year involving a player for Brazilian team Agua Santa.
Henrique had been playing in the under-20s match in Diadema, Sao Paulo, and the players had been battling with fierce weather conditions from the start of the match.
As the play entered stoppage time, the thunder and lightning became so extreme that the players ran off the pitch.
Henrique had nearly reached the dug out when he collapsed having apparently caught the impact of a lightning strike.
Medical staff administered treatment immediately as his horrified team mates looked on.
The referee called time on the match as the player eventually got back to his feet and clambered into the back of an ambulance.