According to the prefecture, two other people were injured, one of them seriously

Lightning struck a football pitch during training on Thursday evening, 23 May, in Courrières, near Lens (Pas-de-Calais), killing a man in his thirties, the prefecture and emergency services said. Another man, suffering from chest pains, was taken to hospital in an absolute state of emergency, while a third was slightly injured with a burn on his leg, according to the authorities.

The victim was a coach at amateur club AS Courrières, as confirmed by his younger brother, Théo Denneulin, who went to the stadium after being informed by another member of the club. Thirty-three other people present at the scene were ‘shocked but unhurt’.

Psychological unit set up Lightning struck the Gabriel Péri stadium in Courrières at around 8pm, during football training, according to the prefecture. ‘It seems that the heavy rain prompted the participants to leave the pitch’, the fire brigade reported. ‘Lightning struck at this point, unfortunately affecting the few people who remained on site.’

A medical-psychological unit has been set up near the stadium. In June 2019, several teenagers from a football club had already been struck by lightning during training in Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras, also in the Pas-de-Calais. Since November, the Pas-de-Calais region has suffered a series of historic floods, leaving thousands of residents stricken.