World Cup legend falls into large pit and breaks 9 bones – ‘it wasn’t my day’
A former World Cup star has suffered multiple broken bones after falling down a hole.
Ex-Columbia international Gabriel ‘Barrabas’ Gómez, 64, was pulled out of the deep pit on a stretcher. After tumbling down the exposed hole, the ex-footballer reportedly broke his collarbone, and eight ribs and suffered a lung injury.
He was out exercising with his wife and a group of pals when the accident happened. Footage shows Gómez being strapped to the stretcher by the emergency services while at the bottom of the pit.
After being lifted out, he can be seen holding his left shoulder groaning in pain as medics try to move him. He was later taken to the El Rosario Clinic in Medellín for medical care following the incident on October 27.
He told local media from his hospital bed: “It just wasn’t my day. But when you’re meant to die, you die. I was standing there when the chain around it came loose and I went to grab it.
(Image: Jam Press)
“I lost balance and fell down the hole. I was with my wife and a group we went out with when the emergency happened.”
Gómez made more than 280 appearances for Atlético Nacional in Colombia’s top-tier league, as reported by NeedToKnow. The defender also played for clubs Independiente Medellín and Millonarios.
He won 49 caps for his country and competed in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup finals in Italy and the USA, starring alongside football icons such as attacking midfielder Carlos Valderrama and eccentric goalie Rene Higuita.
He was also part of the squad that was beaten by the US team in 1994, leading to the infamous murder of Andrés Escobar after he scored an own goal. The 2-1 defeat saw Colombia eliminated at the group stage and Escobar was shot dead five days later as punishment for scoring in his own net.
