Dismay in the Asturian town of Avilés after the death of a 12-year-old boy while playing basketball in the San Fernando school sports center. It happened Tuesday afternoon. The minor felt ill during training and told the instructor before collapsing. The managers of the sports section where he trained immediately called the emergency services to intervene to save the minor. Despite doctors’ attempts to revive him, the boy died a few minutes later. The minor studied at the Carreño Miranda high school in Aviles but trained in one of the sports sections of San Fernando.
The news generated great excitement in the city, and in the community of students and former students of the educational center, which boasts a dense network of contacts and is a reference center for the city. This Wednesday the San Fernando School flags are flying at half-mast and practices at the center have been suspended.
In Asturias there are few documented cases of sudden death. These include that of a five-month-old baby in 2009 in Gijón and in 2021 of a 12-year-old boy, who also died in the same city after an acute inflammatory condition suspected to have been caused by the coronavirus.
The Central University Hospital of Asturias treats around 600 new patients at risk of arrhythmia or sudden death every year. Specialists insist on the importance of genetic research after a sudden death like that of the Avilesian minor, to try to determine possible risks in other family members.
