A 22-year-old man was choked to death after the Argentina flag he was draped in got caught in the steering wheel of his motorbike in Buenos Aires, police have confirmed. Sebastian Oscar Maciel died instantly after accidentally depriving himself of oxygen while celebrating his country’s World Cup win.
Maciel was riding his Honda XR 150cc motorbike in the city of Bahia Blanca in the province of Buenos Aires, around 400 miles south of the capital. He was celebrating Argentina’s World Cup success with the country’s flag draped over his shoulders.
However, Maciel then crashed to the ground and got the flag caught in the steering wheel of his vehicle. The individual died instantly, with police saying the initial theory is that he suffered asphyxiation.
A local police statement said: “The man appears to have died when an Argentinian flag he was wearing tied round his neck like a cape got caught in the one of the motorbike’s wheels and choked him to death.
“Various witnesses saw him fall to the ground and realised he had the flag around his neck. The investigation is ongoing but the initial hypothesis is that he died from asphyxiation.”
Over a million fans are believed to have congregated around Buenos Aires’ Obelisk monument to celebrate Lionel Messi and co. winning Argentina’s first World Cup since 1986. It is only the third time they had won the tournament in their history.
Argentines celebrated in the streets following a remarkable World Cup final. The South Americans appeared to be cruising to a 2-0 victory, only for a Kylian Mbappe-inspired French comeback to help take the game to a penalty shootout following a 3-3 draw.
In Spain, Argentina fans gathered at the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, where hero Messi made home for nearly two decades. Local news reported that Argentinians “took over” the city to see Messi win his first World Cup.
Reports from the capital city of Madrid claimed that three fans were arrested after attempting to scale the 115-foot Christmas tree. They then attacked police who attempted to bring them down.
Meanwhile, Messi has said that he will continue playing international football despite claiming that Qatar would be his final World Cup. He wants to play in front of Argentina fans back home as a world champion.
The iconic forward told journalists: “I want to keep experiencing a few more matches as world champion. I was lucky to clinch every title in my career, this was the only one missing. I want to take this one there [to Argentina] and enjoy it with everybody else.”
