In October of 1998 a bolt of lightning killed an entire 11-man soccer team from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The opposing team was completely unharmed. Thirty more people had burn injuries.
Some people thought the team had been cursed and that was what caused the lightning to strike them. The game was a draw at 1-1 when the lightning struck the visiting team in the province of Kasai in the eastern region of the DRC.
Incidentally, a similar situation happened the following weekend in Johannesburg, South Africa. A Premier League soccer match was suddenly stopped when lightning struck the field.
Half of the players from both teams, the Jomo Cosmos and the Moroka Swallows, fell to the ground. Several of the players writhed on the ground holding their ears and eyes in pain. Luckily, no one was killed in that incident.
STORY………………………
Lightning also struck a match in South Africa
All 11 members of a football team were killed by a bolt of lightning which left the other team unhurt, a Congolese newspaper has reported.
Thirty other people received burns at the match in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kinshasa daily newspaper L’Avenir said local opinion – known to believe in charms and spells – was divided over whether someone had cursed the team.
The two sides were drawing 1-1 in the match in eastern Kasai Province when the lightning struck the visiting team.
“The athletes from [the home team] Basanga curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed,” the paper said.
There was no official confirmation of the report – a rebel war affects much of the east of the country.
The first strike
In a similar incident at the weekend, a premier league soccer match in Johannesburg was brought to an abrupt end when lightning struck the ground.
Half the players from both teams – the Jomo Cosmos and the Moroka Swallows – dropped to the turf.
Several writhed on the grass holding their ears and their eyes. Spectators and coaching staff ran onto the pitch to help. Fortunately no-one was killed.
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