A German sports reporter involved in a car accident while travelling to a Confederations Cup game on Wednesday afternoon remains in a “severe condition”.
The unidentified journalist and three colleagues were travelling to the Spain vs USA semi-final in Bloemfontein.
Dr Martin Schafer, spokesman for the German Embassy in South Africa confirmed the accident, saying: “Four German citizens were involved in a car accident in Windburg, in the Free State on their way to Bloemfontein early [Wednesday] afternoon. They lost control of their vehicle and over-turned, but no other car was involved.”
Fifa’s chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak said the injured man is a freelance reporter. One colleague who works for news agency AFP, sustained less serious injuries and the two others were not hurt.
“They were taken to a Fifa accredited private hospital in Bloemfontein. One of the passengers was operated on Wednesday evening, he is being artificially ventilated, we will only be able to make a prognostic statement on him in 48 or 72 hours,” Dvorak said.
“The circumstances surrounding the accident is under investigation by the police. The whole incident has been treated with the highest professionalism,” Dvorak said.
The names of the men was not released by the German embassy. Their families have been notified about the accident.
[ Story by Sally Evans appeared in The Times]
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