08 May,2016 07:29 AM IST | | AFP
Cameroon international Patrick Ekeng has died after collapsing on the pitch playing a first division match on Friday with his Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest.
Patrick Ekeng
Bucharest: Cameroon international Patrick Ekeng has died after collapsing on the pitch playing a first division match on Friday with his Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest.
Patrick Ekeng
The 26-year-old midfielder fell to the ground without any contact with another player in the 70th minute of the game against Viitorul, just seven minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Member of the medical staff tries to revive Cameroon's Patrick Ekeng as he lies on the pitch after collapsing during a football match in Bucharest, Romania on Friday. pic/AFP
Ekeng, who joined the Romanian club in January, was rushed to hospital where the staff were unable to resuscitate him. "Resuscitation attempts were made for an hour and half without success," Dinamo team doctor Liviu Batineanu told journalists. Fans of the Bucharest club gathered outside the hospital late into the night to express their grief at the player's death.
Club executive director Ionel Danciulescu expressed his shock after a death, which recalled that of another club player Catalin Haldan who died playing a friendly in October 2000.
"I can't believe it. It's a nightmare. For me, for the team and for all Dinamo supporters. It's too much," said Danciulescu. "It's as if we are cursed."
