Thai teen golfer dies after lightning strike during youth tournament

BANGKOK – Thai junior golfer Aeyavarin “Aeya” Pradubyart, 15, died on Nov 2, a day after being struck by lightning during a youth tournament in Chachoengsao.The incident occurred at about 4pm at a golf course in Bang Nam Priao district, located in central Thailand’s Chachoengsao province. A female caddie, Saithan, 31, was also injured and remained under close medical supervision.Aeya’s family raised concerns about why the competition had continued despite earlier lightning strikes and alleged that the absence of an ambulance at the course delayed her transfer to hospital.Rescue workers found Aeya unconscious and without vital signs. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the scene and restored her heartbeat before taking her to Bang Nam Priao Hospital.She was subsequently transferred to Buddhasothorn Hospital for further treatment.According to her family, her heart had stopped for nearly an hour before a pulse was restored. She remained critically injured throughout the night despite efforts to save her.Mother alleges play continued despite lightningHer mother, Natcha, 49, recalled hearing a lightning strike near a row of pine trees to the left of the course at about 3pm, followed by several more strikes.She alleged that the young golfers continued playing because officials had not instructed them to stop, even as rain began and conditions deteriorated.According to Natcha, officials suspended the competition and arranged vehicles to collect the golfers only after another loud strike to the right of the course and the onset of heavier rain.She saw about two members of her daughter’s group returning but could not find Aeya. When she asked where her daughter was, she was told that Aeya was lying down, which she initially understood to mean that she was resting at a golfers’ shelter.Natcha then heard that a child had been struck by lightning and rushed to find out who had been injured. On learning that it was Aeya, she asked officials to help her find her daughter.Aeya had been taken to a golfers’ rest area, where people were administering first aid. Natcha described redness across her daughter’s face and body and involuntary muscle movements before she lost consciousness again.Her mother said doctors later told her they could no longer save Aeya.Grandmother questions delay in hospital transportAeya’s grandmother, Aphorn, 67, said the teenager had been playing with a group of about three or four golfers and a caddie, while her mother was at the clubhouse.Aphorn recalled that Aeya had been competing since around 11am and had participated in two rounds.She alleged that officials had allowed play to continue after two earlier lightning strikes. Aeya was at the 11th hole when lightning struck for a third time, according to her account.Aphorn questioned whether organisers had been trying to finish the competition quickly, although she did not know why play had continued.She described burns affecting the right side of Aeya’s head, her body, arms and legs, and said her cap had been torn.The grandmother also alleged that there had been a lengthy wait to take Aeya to hospital because no ambulance was available at the course.Award-winning junior selected as Chon Buri reserveAphorn described her granddaughter as a provincial-level golfer who had won awards at several competitions. Her performances had earned her selection as a reserve for the Chon Buri provincial golf team.She said Aeya’s condition worsened overnight and that medication was sustaining her vital functions while her father travelled back from Myanmar, where he was working.He reached the hospital the following morning and was able to say goodbye before Aeya died later that morning.Natcha collected her daughter’s body from Buddhasothorn Hospital’s forensic medicine department on November 2 to take her for Islamic funeral rites at Darul Ibadah Mosque in central Pattaya.The mosque is on Sukhumvit Road, Moo 9, in Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri.Aeya’s grandparents packed her clothes and golf bag into a vehicle for the journey back to the family home in Chon Buri. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK