Argentina fan from Kerala suspected to have jumped into river after team’s shock defeat in FIFA world cup

india

Updated: Jun 22, 2018 18:39 IST

A distraught football fan from Kottayam in Kerala was suspected to have jumped into a river on Friday morning after Argentina’s shock defeat against Croatia in a FIFA world cup match the evening before.

Argentina suffered a shock 3-0 defeat by Croatia on Thursday.

A note left behind by the man — identified as 30-year-old Dinu Alex — said he was unable to bear the pain of witnessing his favourite team’s defeat. Family member said he seemed disturbed after the game, and went missing a few hours later.

The police were alerted, and fire force personnel immediately launched a search in the bulging Meenachal river. However, the search was hampered due to heavy downpour.

Alex’s friends said he was sure that Argentina would clock an impressive win and storm into the pre-quarter finals in style. However, after the team lost, he reportedly cried and switched off his phone. Alex’s note stated that his favourite team had let him down.

Several areas in the football-crazy Malabar region observed a near-shutdown on Friday. Police had to intervene after a group of Brazil fans celebrated Argentina’s defeat by bursting crackers on Thursday night.