Cameroonian footballer collapses during Romanian league match, dies in hospital

Cameroonian player Patrick Ekeng collapsed on the football field on Friday evening, during a match in Romania’s top league. He died at the hospital after resuscitation maneuvers which lasted over an hour.

The incident took place in the second half of a match between Dinamo Bucharest and FC Viitorul Constanta, in the Romanian First League playoffs.

Ekeng fell unconsciously without being touched by any other player, just 7 minutes after he had entered the game. The referee immediately paused the game and the medical team entered the field for first aid.

However, it took almost three minutes until the ambulance brought him to the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, which is right next to Dinamo’s stadium.

Ekeng was in a serious condition and he didn’t respond to the doctors’ resuscitation maneuvers, local Digi Sport reports. He apparently suffered a cardiogenic shock during which his heart stopped pumping blood to his vital organs, according to unofficial information quoted by Digi Sport. The hospital’s representatives haven’t made any official statement yet.

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26-year old Ekeng has been playing for Romanian club Dinamo Bucharest since mid-season and has had a few good matches lately. Before this, he played for Cordoba in the Spanish second league and for Lausanne-Sport, in the Swiss League. He played defensive midfielder and has also had 7 matches for the Cameroon national football team.

Ekeng is the second Dinamo Bucuresti player who died during a football match. In 2000, Dinamo's captain Catalin Hildan died during a friendly match after he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was 24.

In 2012, a 21-year old Nigerian football player died during a match in Romania's second league.

FC Sevilla's Antonio Puerta and and Cameroon's Marc-Vivien Foe are two of the best-known international footballers who died in similar conditions.

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(Photo source: FC Dinamo Bucuresti on Facebook)