An 11-year-old boy has died after an unsecured metal goalpost collapsed on him at a football ground in Brazil, crushing him in front of other children while his father was nearby packing away equipment.
Bernardo Amorim Calixto Santos had gone to watch his father Maurício Calixto Gomes play for amateur club Colorado at a pitch in São José da Lapa on Saturday — a regular outing for the pair. After the match ended, while the adults were tidying away equipment, the children continued to play on the open pitch. It is believed Bernardo either leaned against or was hanging from one of two movable goalposts that had not been secured. The metal structure toppled, landing on the boy and causing catastrophic head injuries.
Another child ran to alert Maurício, telling him: “Bernardo’s hurt, he’s bleeding over there.” He sprinted across the pitch to find his son lying unconscious and covered in blood. He carried Bernardo to his car and drove him to the nearest emergency department, where medical staff worked to treat him. He was pronounced dead approximately an hour later.
Bernardo lived with his parents and half-sister in the nearby town of Ribeirão das Neves. A devoted Atlético Mineiro fan, his love of football had, by his father’s own account, persuaded Maurício to take up the game again. “I started playing football again because of him,” he told local media. “I thought, ‘I’ll start playing again because Bernardo’s growing up — otherwise he could end up going down the wrong path.'”
His uncle, Mauro Calixto Gomes, 45, described a boy who had “won everyone over.” “He did everything he could to make people smile,” he said. “We’re devastated.”
Mauro also revealed that other children had been injured at the same pitch in similar circumstances involving the goalposts, adding: “It never ended in someone dying. We just hope Bernardo’s case is the last, so no more parents have to suffer like this.”
The pitch is managed by São José da Lapa City Hall, which issued a statement saying it had been “monitoring the case since the incident” and was awaiting the conclusion of expert reports and investigations before taking further action. A memorial for Bernardo was held in Ribeirão das Neves on Monday.
