A teenage boy died after he was struck in the chest by a soccer ball during a youth league game in Brazil.
Video footage showed Edson Gama, 16, standing in front of the net as the opposing team was about to kick a penalty at a tournament that held Sunday night in Maués, a city in the northwestern state of Amazonas.
Gama was positioned towards the right side of the net when the first penalty kick sailed into the net, completely out of his reach.
He remained in the same spot when the following struck him in the middle of the chest.
Gama stumbled to the ground and fell on his back as the recording came to an end.
Bystanders at the field attempted to provide him assistance and his family were alerted to the tragedy at around 1am.
Gama’s sister, Elisia Lopes, told Brazilian online news outlet G1 that their parents encountered issues taking him to the hospital in Maués because the rivers in their community, Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, were dry.
The teenager was not showing vital signs when he arrived at the hospital at 12.15pm the following day and was confirmed dead.
Lopes revealed that Gama did not have heart problems, but did tell his family he was experiencing chest pains before he left home.
While the family is awaiting an autopsy report that will determine the cause of death, doctors informed them that Gama’s death was likely caused by previously having been struck in the area.
The treating physicians believe that the blow Gama suffered during the game may have worsened a medical condition he was already suffering from or caused the injury that took his life.
Dr. Cotta Júnior told newspaper Folha Vitoria that Gama’s death could have been the result of commotio cordis – a rare and potentially fatal condition that happens when a blunt trauma to the chest directly over the heart disrupts the organ’s normal rhythm.
It is the same rare condition that almost killed NFL player Damar Hamlin and is often associated with being a higher risk to young baseball players.
‘Could there be a cardiac reason for this to happen? And the answer is yes,’ Júnior said.
‘In fact, in medicine, it has a name, it’s called comotio cordis. It’s a trauma in the chest area, above the heart, and it can actually lead to cardiac arrest. One case for every 100,000 athletes worldwide.’
Lopes described Gama as a soccer lover who made sure he was always at the field showing off his talent.
‘Every time there was this type of tournament, he was there. He never missed a single football play,’ she said.
‘He had already been hit by the ball several times in past tournaments. He was always dedicated to the sport,’ she added.
‘He was a young man who gave his life for the ball, and it was the ball that took his life.’