Gabonese footballer collapses and dies during league fixture

A player in the Gabonese first division, Herman Tsinga, collapsed during a game over the weekend and was pronounced dead later, local media reported on Monday.

The Gabon Football Federation, FEGAFOOT, is now saddled with the seventh such incident in 12 years, a local daily newspaper, The Union said.

Tsinga, a striker for Akanda FC, collapsed in the 23rd minute of the match with Missile FC on Saturday in the capital Libreville, the newspaper reported.

The 30-year-old received a cardiac massage by a military doctor, but died on his way to hospital.

An amateur video posted on Twitter showed the confused reaction after Tsinga collapsed on the edge of the centre circle.

According to The Union, neither of the two ambulances at the scene had the defibrillator or oxygen mask necessary “to save the life of the player”.

The match was part of the second round of the championship, which was able to resume in February after a gap of eight months when Gabon Oil Company agreed to sponsor the competition.