TURA: a spectacular game of soccer that was taking place in a village under Phulbari in West Garo Hills turned tragic when lightning struck the venue killing one person and injuring over two dozen spectators on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident took place at Gimegre Songma village under Phulbari police station in the plain belt region of the district during an ongoing football tournament.
Hundreds of football fans were witnessing the match when a thunderstorm took place.
To avoid the down pour, scores of people rushed beneath a nearby tree to take shelter when a bolt of lightning struck the very tree they were taking shelter under.
The impact of the lightning strike was so powerful that as many as 14 injured spectators had to be rushed to nearby Phulbari hospital for emergency treatment.
One of the victims of the lightning strike was declared dead while two others had to be admitted for further medical care. Twelve other persons were administered first aid and discharged from hospital, the same evening.
The deceased has been identified as Rikcheng A Sangma (22 years) of Gimegre village.