A 30-year-old soccer player was killed yesterday as he was hit by a thunderbolt on the field. Yiannis Sykiotis (middle) and his fellow players were rushing to leave practice after a sudden thunderstorm broke. The accident happened at the village of Kirinthos on the island of Evia, Greece. It was 6:00 p.m. on Thursday when the local team was practicing on the soccer field. A sudden storm broke and the players ran for the locker room. Sykiotis was the last to leave and was hit by lightning. His fellow players saw what had happened and rushed to help but found him unconscious. They carried him to the Mantoudi health center where he was pronounced dead. Local news sources say that he died instantly. His parents collapsed when they arrived at the health center and heard the doctor’s report. According to the same sources, five or six other players were slightly injured by the thunderbolt and they were carried to the Chalkida hospital for precautionary reasons. Four of them stayed in the hospital to recover from the shock. It should be noted that the soccer field did not have a lightning rod. According to regulations, all soccer fields in Greece should have four lightning rods, one on each light pylon. The AE Kirinthos soccer club belongs to the 2nd amateur local division and the field does not meet such specifications.
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