An Argentina fan has died after falling from a roof in Buenos Aires, while a five-year-old boy is reportedly in a coma following celebrations of the national team’s dramatic World Cup 2022 victory.
According to reports in La Nacion, the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health confirmed that the 24-year-old man died of a fatal head injury at the Fernández Hospital having been admitted “after a fall from a height, in the context of the massive festivities that occurred in the City of Buenos Aires.”
He was found unconscious on the third floor of a parking lot on Monday morning by police officers, with the police claiming that “he was jumping on the roof, celebrating the triumph of the National Team, until a plate broke and fell.”
Argentina dramatically won their first men’s football World Cup since 1986 on Sunday as Lionel Messi inspired La Albiceleste to a penalty shootout victory over France following a 3-3 draw in what is widely regarded as the greatest final of all time.
This win sparked huge celebrations across the South American country but they have been marred by the death of the supporter in the capital city. After the news was released, the young man’s family issued a statement in which they gave their version of events.
The statement explains how he “decided to urinate on the side of the highway passing the guardrail and that’s when he falsely stepped on an old plastic sheet that served as the roof of the restaurant parking lot and fell.”
They added that “he wasn’t drugged, he wasn’t drunk, he just didn’t want to be watched while he urinated. He was a healthy boy, a student and a worker who wanted to go home to have dinner and continue celebrating more calmly.”
La Nacion is also reporting that a five-year-old boy is in a coma with injuries sustained from the impact of a piece of marble falling off a monument in Plaza San Martín, where he was celebrating with his family.
It reports that he has been transferred to the Hospital Interzonal Especializado Materno Infantil, where a serious head injury was confirmed that warranted admission to intensive care and has left him in a coma.
It comes after another fan choked to death when the Argentinian flag tied around his neck got caught in his motorcycle.
An estimated 4 million fans lined the streets of Buenos Aires to greet their returning heroes in an open-top bus parade. However, the parade had to be abandoned due to security concerns, with the players forced to continue the tour by helicopter.
A fan jumped into the bus from an overhead bridge, dropping into the overhead deck occupied by the Argentina players. A second fan tried to follow him but missed the bus, narrowly avoiding Messi, as he fell backwards and into the crowd below.
The head of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) later confirmed that players were unable to reach the central Obelisco monument as planned due to the size of the crowd.
President Alberto Fernandez declared a national holiday on Tuesday so the country could celebrate the victory. The World Cup and the success of the squad has brought much-needed good news for a country that has been stuck in economic doldrums for years and is suffering one of the world’s highest inflation rates, where almost four in 10 people live in poverty.
