On July 4, a Russian soccer team was holding practice. The team manager said that there was no threat of severe weather in the area, according to CNN.

Just as a 16-year-old athlete kicked the ball, a bolt of lightning struck him. Immediately afterwards his team rushed out to check on him. A trainer performed CPR and less than 10 minutes later, an ambulance was on scene.

He suffered severe burns and was put into a medically induced coma, but his injuries are not considered life threatening.

He was wearing a metal chain around his neck at the time of the lightning strike. There is a scar around his neck where the lightning hit the chain and one of his lungs was damaged.

Metal is a conductor of electricity, but does NOT attract lightning. The presence of metal makes no difference where the lightning strikes. According to lightning.org: height, pointy shape, and isolation are the dominant factors controlling where a lightning bolt will strike.

The odds of being struck by lightning in the United States is 1 in 15,300.  In the last 10 years (2009-2018), the U.S. has averaged 27 lightning fatalities per year, according to Weather.gov.

Credit: MOSPORT10 via YouTube

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