Football
Associated Press 3y

Quarantined Uruguay player rescued from hotel blaze

Buenos Aires firefighters rescued a footballer from Uruguayan club Rentistas who had dangled himself from a hotel balcony to escape a fire in his room, local authorities confirmed Tuesday.

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In a video released by the Buenos Aires City Hall, midfielder Francisco Duarte is observed hanging at the balcony of his room on the highest floor, where thick smoke was coming out.

Then, with the help of a crane, firefighters were able to rescue him.

Duarte told local media that he could not smell the smoke because he had lost his sense of smell due to COVID-19, but he realized it was a fire when he saw the flames.

Duarte is part of the Rentistas delegation that arrived in Argentina's capital to face Racing Club on Tuesday at the last round of Copa Libertadores' group stage.

He and two other teammates had tested positive for coronavirus in the swabs carried out upon arrival in Argentina, and each one was isolated in a room at the Hotel de las Americas downtown.

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