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1st LD: Lightning strike injures 33 people in German football match: media

Xinhua, May 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 33 people have been brought to hospital due to a lightning strike on Saturday during a football match in the west of German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, German media Focus Online reported, citing a police spokesman.

The report said that among the total injured, there were 29 children. Three of the wounded were suffering serious injuries in the accident in Hoppstaetten, a city in western Rhineland-Palatinate.

The referee of the E-Youth game was hit directly by lightning. After receiving some resuscitative measures, the 45-year-old man was then brought to a hospital by a emergency rescue helicopter. Two other adults were also seriously injured.

The police spokesman was quoted as saying that the affected children were apparently not seriously injured. However, they were taken to hospital for precautionary examinations.

According to the report, the football game had just ended at the time of the lightning strike. "There was no rain and no dark skies, according to witnesses," said the spokesman to Focus Online.

As a meteorologist of the German Weather Service (DWD)said, three storm cells were in the area when the accident took place. The DWD warned residents in large parts of Rhineland-Palatinate of severe thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon. Endit