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Patrick Ekeng: Cameroonian Player Dies On Soccer Field Following Cardiac Arrest

By Rahul Srinivas
Published on: 02:56 PST, May 7, 2016

Patrick Ekeng, a 26-year-old Cameroonian soccer player playing for Romanian football club Dinamo Bucharest, collapsed and died on the soccer field on Friday evening, Deadspin reports. Ekeng was playing a match against FC Viitorul Constanta in the Romanian First League playoffs when the incident happened during the 70th minute of the match. The event was broadcast live across Romania, and people watched in shock as desperate attempts were made to revive Patrick. A few minutes after unsuccessfully attempting to resuscitate Ekeng, an ambulance was called in which rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors tried to revive him for well over an hour. However, they were not able to save his life and confirmed his death a few hours later.

The video showing the moment Patrick collapsed on the field is now on YouTube and has been watched by thousands of people. We have embedded the same below.

In the video, Ekeng is seen falling onto the ground all of a sudden. He was standing alone, and there were no players near him who would have touched or injured him in any manner. Ekeng had entered the field just seven minutes earlier as a substitute and did not show any signs of a health problem when he did so.

Patrick Ekeng
Dinamo’s Patrick Ekeng of Cameroon, enters the pitch for the last time. (AP Photo) ROMANIA OUT

After Ekeng collapsed, it took several seconds for his team mates and opposition players to notice him. Everyone rushed towards him as the referee paused the game. A team of emergency technicians immediately joined them and resuscitation attempts began. After resuscitation attempts failed, an ambulance was called on the field nearly three minutes after he fell which took him to the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, which is located close to the stadium where the incident happened. The oblivious crowd cheered on as Ekeng was taken away in the vehicle. His co-players were visibly shaken by the entire incident. Several players tweeted about the incident, expressing their shock.

Later, doctors from the Floreasca Emergency Hospital revealed that Ekeng was brought in a serious condition and that he did not show any response to their resuscitation attempts. They added that he had suffered from a cardiogenic shock which led to his heart stopping the blood supply to his vital organs. However, an official inquiry into the incident is still pending, and the hospital is yet to issue a statement revealing the actual cause of death.

Ekeng has been described as a promising talent and had only recently started playing for Romanian club Dinamo Bucharest. He was also an experienced player for Cordoba when he played for the Spanish second league and for Lausanne-Sport in the Swiss League. A member of the Cameroon national football team, he had played seven matches for his country.

This is not the first time a Dinamo Bucuresti player died during a football match. In 2000, then team captain 24-year-old Catalin Hildan died during a friendly match following a cardiac arrest. Other recent football deaths on the field in Romania include the death of a 21-year-old Nigerian football player who died during a match in Romania’s second league back in 2012. Two internationally renowned footballers, Antonio Puerta and Marc-Vivien Foe, also died on the field following cardiac arrests.

[AP Photo – ROMANIA OUT]

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