A football game in Argentina had to be suspended after a fan died after falling from the stadium, BBC reported. The incident happened on June 3 when the Argentinian club River Plate was playing rivals Defensa y Justicia at Estadio Mas Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires.
The match was paused after 14 minutes as referee Fernando Rapallini was informed of a medical emergency in the stands. The game then resumed but was stopped again 27 minutes when the referee was informed of the tragic incident.
Notably, the 53-year-old fan named Pablo Marcelo Serrano died instantly from head injuries after plunging 15 meters from the Sivori Alta stand.
River Plate, in a statement, confirmed that the supporter ”jumped” and “died on the spot”, and the area needed to be cordoned off so that emergency services could tend to the deceased.
“The football safety committee and Club Atlético River Plate regret to inform that, in this afternoon’s match against Defensa y Justicia, a supporter jumped into the void from the Sívori Alta stand and died on the spot. The medical service immediately arrived at the area of the incident, as did the police and various security agencies.
The Sivori Alta grandstand, where the deceased person had his season tickets, was at 90% of its capacity. At the time of the fall, there was no intervention by third parties. It was also verified that there was no situation of violence in the stands or around it. After 30 minutes, the stadium was completely evacuated,” the club said in a press release.
The club has also confirmed that the stadium will be closed for 24 hours and has declared a day of mourning.
Alberto Crescenti, director of Buenos Aires’ medical attention services system, told CBS, “He died instantly from severe trauma. He fell from approximately 15 meters, there was no push. There was nothing to do.”
“With the autopsy, it will really be known if he had a previous injury or if he died as a result of the fall. It was a man and he had long hair,” Crescenti added.