Video: Terrifying moment when soccer player is hit by lightning

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Thursday, December 11, 2014
Soccer player Joao Contreras Fuentes was struck by lightning during a match.
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Video footage surfaced of the terrifying moment when a soccer player was struck by lightning.

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Joao Contreras Fuentes, 21, was playing for Sport Aguila, a Peruvian soccer club, in a semifinal match when a storm hit. Players were waiting on the field for the second half to start when a loud bang occurred after Fuentes was struck by lightning. The footage above shows a puff of smoke appear over Fuentes, who immediately fell to the ground, according to the Daily Mirror.

Players then rushed to help the injured player. A number of other players and officials were also injured in the strike. "Thank God he's OK," Sport Aguila captain Amilcar Lobon told the newspaper Diario Correo. he's getting better, and now we're just thinking about his recovery."

Fuentes was initially reported to have died following the strike, but the Peruvian Football Federation clarified that the player was still alive. You can see the harrowing footage of the lightning strike in the video above.