Lightning strike kills 24-year-old footballer during match in Thailand
A 24-year-old winger was fatally struck by lightning during a regional tournament semifinal in Narathiwat province on Tuesday, with 12 other players injured.
The incident
On Tuesday, 4 August 2026, around 17:30 local time, a lightning bolt struck the Santiphap Stadium pitch in Su-ngai Kolok, Narathiwat province, during a Golok FA Cup semifinal between Samcolts and Abu x Nong Sirin. The regional tournament features mixed Thai and Malaysian amateur sides. Despite heavy rain and an ongoing thunderstorm, the match continued. Amateur video shows a sudden bright flash, a column of smoke and flame rising from the field, and several players collapsing instantly. Panic spread among the roughly hundred spectators as teammates rushed to help the fallen. Safwan Awae, a 24-year-old winger, took the direct hit and lay motionless. Other players formed a makeshift shelter with umbrellas around him while waiting for emergency services.
- Lightning strikes the pitch during the Golok Cup semifinal between Samcolts and Abu x Nong Sirin.
- Emergency medical team arrives and attempts resuscitation.
- Safwan Awae pronounced dead from severe injuries.
- Yala FC and the Thai FA issue public condolences.
Medical personnel arrived within minutes and attempted resuscitation, but Awae could not be revived. Police colonel Thun Sirikhunt, chief of Sungai Golok police, later stated:
Even though the emergency medical team did everything to save him, the victim died from the severe injuries.
Twelve other players sustained injuries, primarily burns. Eight Thai players were taken to Sungai Kolok Hospital in stable condition; among the injured was 22-year-old Malaysian Alif Ezzahan Zulkifli. The match was immediately abandoned.
The player
Safwan Awae had signed with Yala FC, a semi-professional club in Thai League 3, on 29 July 2026, just days before the tragedy. The move fulfilled his ambition to play at a higher level. He previously played for Pattani FC, where he scored 7 goals in 18 appearances last season and helped the team win promotion to Thai League 2. Born in 2002, Awae was a winger who could also operate as a forward. He had seven siblings.
Reactions
Yala FC sent representatives, including the club manager, to offer condolences directly to Awae's family. The club posted on Facebook:
Representatives of the club went to offer condolences and words of encouragement to the family of Safwan Awae, the new FC Yala player who died as a result of a natural disaster. Accordingly, the board, coaching staff, players and all employees of FC Yala extend their condolences to the family of Safwan Awae.
The message included a traditional Islamic prayer. The Football Association of Thailand, under royal patronage, issued a statement:
The Football Association of Thailand, under the patronage of His Majesty the King, expresses its deepest condolences for the death of Safwan Awae, who died after being struck by lightning during a local football match. The Association shares in the pain of this loss and offers its condolences to the family, those involved and the club in this time of mourning.
Awae's former clubs, Pattani FC and VRN Muangnont, also paid tribute. Relatives requested that videos of the incident not be shared.
Safety and weather context
The tragedy occurred at the peak of Thailand's monsoon season, which runs from May to October, when sudden thunderstorms are common in the southern provinces. The match was not suspended despite the deteriorating weather. FIFA's lightning protocol recommends immediate stoppage if a strike is detected within 13 kilometres and a wait of at least 30 minutes after the last discharge before resuming. During the 2026 World Cup, a group-stage match between France and Iraq was interrupted for over two hours due to storms under the same protocol. The incident has renewed attention on safety enforcement at regional and amateur matches, where such protocols are often not applied.
