Football teams hurt by lightning

Several of the football players lost consciousness after the strike

Twenty-five people were injured when lightning struck a football pitch during an amateur match in southern Austria on Tuesday, officials say.

No-one suffered a direct hit when the lightning struck the pitch near a goalpost, but the electric shock was strong enough to knock some people out.

The accompanying storm prevented helicopters from being dispatched to the ground, outside the town of Leoben.

The victims were later treated in a hospital for burns and other injuries.

The chairman of the Lerchenfeld Police Sports Club, on whose pitch the match was being played, told reporters: "Suddenly it came down directly. Then there was a thunderclap. It was crazy! Unbelievable!"

Peter Kurzbeck, one of the players, said he had initially felt his head being compressed before briefly losing consciousness.