A Uruguayan footballer in hotel quarantine dangled himself from the window of his room on the 11th floor to escape a blaze before being rescued by Buenos Aires firefighters early on Tuesday, his club Rentistas have said.
Midfielder Francisco Duarte had tested positive for COVID-19 along with teammates Andres Rodales and Damian Malrechauffe on their arrival in Argentina to face Racing Club de Avellaneda in the Copa Libertadores.
#Incendio en Hotel de las Américas. Libertad al 1000. Fuego en el piso 11. Un hombre colgaba de la ventana acorralado por las llamas y fue rescatado por Bomberos de la Ciudad con un hidroelevador. @solotransito @AlertasTransito @SeguridadBA @jotaleonetti @rominawinner @bagliettoc pic.twitter.com/qixoE7lAdU
— Emergencias BA (@EmergenciasBA) May 25, 2021
The player told local media that at first he did not notice the smoke in his room because he had lost his sense of smell due to COVID-19 and only tried to escape when he saw flames, ESPN reported.
Buenos Aires City Hall released a video which showed a man hanging from the window of his room for several seconds as firefighters used a crane to pull him to safety.
Rentistas, who went on to lose their match with Racing 3-0 later on Tuesday, tweeted that Duarte was in "perfect condition" following the incident.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )
