A soccer player dies and several are injured after a lightning strike during a match in Peru

A soccer player has died and several have been injured this Sunday in Peru after being struck by lightning during a match. According to local media reports, the deceased is the defender José Hugo de la Cruz Meza. Furthermore, the goalkeeper Juan Choca He is in serious condition, with severe burns.

The health status of the other players who were struck by lightning is unknown.

The tragedy occurred around 4:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT) at the Coto Coto stadium, in Chichalocated in the department of Huancayowhere two local teams were playing under a storm: Bellavista Youth and Chocca Family.

A video shows the precise moment of the lightning strikes several footballers that fade at the same time on the grass.

The lightning struck seconds after the game was suspended due to the storm and when the players left the field.

Local media reported that the injured were immediately taken to the Carrión de Huancayo hospitalwhere doctors certified the death of José Hugo de la Cruz Meza upon arrival.

César Ramos, manager of the municipality’s Civil Defense, told the local newspaper Mail that the lightning struck De la Cruz because the player apparently he had a metal bracelet. “That has been like a magnet,” the official said.

It is not the first time that lightning hits a player on a field in Peru. In the same region of Junin In 2014, lightning struck Joao Contreras, a Sport Águila player, whose team was playing against Fuerza Minera in the semifinal of a championship whose winner is promoted to first division soccer. Contreras, then 21, survived.