Malaysia’s Rohingya footballers mourn player killed after shirt caught fire from lightning strike

Malaysia’s Rohingya football community is in mourning after the death of 19-year-old Rohimullah Bin Abdul Zalil, who was killed after the sodden football pitch he was standing on was struck by lightning on Sunday.

Rohimullah, who fled Myanmar in 2014 because of a military crackdown on young Rohingya males, was one of five Rohingya who collapsed after lightning had struck the field in Shah Alam near Kuala Lumpur. It is reported that they were using their mobile phones when the incident occurred.

Abdul Rahman Bin Abul Hussein, 30, is in critical condition in hospital, while Kamal Uddin Bin Abu Taher, 30, and Husson Ahmed Bin Asod Ali, 20, are expected to be discharged, according to Mohammed Faruk, an official with the Kuala Lumpur-based refugee team Arakan Times Rohingya Football Club.

The identity of the fifth victim is unknown.

Rohimullah was an avid footballer, Faruk said, but was a spectator at the friendly match between Rohingya Klang FC and Peninsular International School on Sunday afternoon.

“Rohimullah is a very good footballer and he loved football. It was his main hobby,” Faruk told the South China Morning Post on Monday. “His parents are in Myanmar and he was supporting them. They are very upset.

“It is a very sad time for the Rohingya footballers because we are a very close community.”

Faruk said the match was stopped early because of heavy rain and lightning.

“Most of the players went indoors and were waiting for the bus but there were about seven people still out on the field,” said Faruk.

Bad weather has caused havoc in the political capital Putrajaya and areas around Kuala Lumpur over the past few days. Malaysia has among the highest incidence of lightning activity in the world.

In May, 2016, 18-year-old Australian goalkeeper Stefan Petrovski, who was playing for Malaysian side Melaka United, died weeks after lightning struck the goalposts he and a teammate were standing near during a training session.

Local media quoted witnesses as saying Rohingya Klang FC teammates were unable to provide immediate help to the fallen players because of continued lightning activity. After about five minutes, they were able to run on to the field and saw that several of their friends had collapsed.

According to reports, Rohimullah was killed instantly.

Klang Utara police chief, ACP Nurulhuda Mohd Salleh, was quoted as saying: “One victim is confirmed dead, while four more are injured including one who is critical, sent to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang for further treatment.”

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Mohamed Noor Zafar, a friend of Rohimullah, was quoted as saying: “I was playing in a friendly match before the tragedy. Rohimullah only came to support our team, Klang Rohingya Football Club.

“However, the match was cancelled due to the weather. I then contacted our bus driver to take us home.

“While waiting for the bus, a thunderstorm started. Rohimullah, who was sitting in the middle of the field, was struck by lightning. His shirt caught fire.”

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Malaysia is home to tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled their homeland, saying they are being oppressed by the government and its military.

More than 800,000 Rohingya who escaped Rakhine state are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Myanmar government does not recognise them as citizens, calling them Bengalis while the Bangladesh government say they belong to Myanmar.