Argentina’s World Cup heroes airlifted in helicopters as street party overflows
- Open-top bus parade brought to a standstill as huge crowds gather, forcing Messi and his teammates into helicopters to complete celebrations
- The football-crazed country has been overwhelmed with jubilant celebrations since Argentina beat France for its third World Cup title
Argentina’s World Cup heroes had to abandon an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires as millions of ecstatic fans flooded onto the streets and brought the city to a standstill, with Lionel Messi and his teammates whisked into helicopters to complete the celebrations.
The players who were triumphant in Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar were unable to reach the central Obelisco monument as planned because the route was completely blocked by the heaving crowd, estimated by local media at over 4 million people.
With social media footage showing some fans trying to jump onto the team’s bus when it passed under a bridge, the scheduled eight-hour journey was cut short due to security fears. The players were transferred from their parade bus and into helicopters.
“The world champions are flying over the entire route in helicopters because it became impossible to continue on land due to the explosion of joy,” presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter.
Television images showed people all over the city, including those waiting around the Obelisco and on surrounding highways trying to catch a glimpse of their returning champions.
