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The moment when the Peruvian football player died and 4 people were injured was captured on video
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The moment when the Peruvian football player died and 4 people were injured was captured on video

A football player was struck by lightning during a match in Peru at the weekend, killing himself and injuring four other players in the horrific incident captured on the match’s live video stream. According to Peruvian news, while the players and referees were leaving the field due to worsening weather conditions at the Coto Coto stadium near the city of Huancayo on Sunday, 39-year-old José Hugo De la Cruz Meza, defender of the Chocca Family team, was struck by lightning. state run Andina news agency.

De la Cruz died immediately after the strike before being taken to a local hospital, Peruvian news outlets reported. The team’s goalkeeper, De la Cruz’s cousin Juan Chocca Llacta, was in serious condition, and three other players also suffered burns.

Video of the strike showed players walking calmly off the field when a flash of light briefly engulfed Meza.

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A screenshot from video published by sports broadcaster Onda Deportivo Huancavelica in Peru shows the moment lightning struck José Hugo De la Cruz Meza, 39, defender of the Chocca Family team, as players and referees left the field at the Coto Coto stadium in the central Peruvian city of Huancayo near, November 3, 2024.

Onda Deportivo Huancavelica/Reuters


He and about half of the other dozen players immediately go down. Llacta, walking right next to Meza, and five other players some distance away can be seen moving quickly again, some rolling over in pain, but De la Cruz is not seen moving again in the clip.

In the video taken after the match, which ended after a lightning strike with about 20 minutes remaining, people were seen looking at the burn marks on the grass where the lightning struck.

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A screenshot from video posted by sports broadcaster Onda Deportivo Huancavelica in Peru shows players falling to the ground immediately after a player was struck by lightning as everyone left the field at the Coto Coto stadium near the central city of Huancayo, Peru, November 3, 2024.

Llacta, who survived serious injuries, told Peru: Daily Mail newspaper They were walking off the field with their arms around each other just before lightning struck on Monday.

“I let him go, we took three steps and we were struck by lightning,” he was quoted as saying. “… I felt a flash of light in my head and my mind went blank, then I don’t remember anything else. I regained consciousness in the hospital. I thank God for giving me a chance to live. I’m surprised I’m alive.”

De la Cruz’s family held a funeral in his hometown of Huancayo and displayed his fire-scorched uniform next to his coffin, according to the newspaper.

The Daily Mail reported that his wife asked local authorities for financial support to cover funeral expenses and for the future, as his wife had to take care of their three young children alone.