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French boy dies after being hit by ice hockey puck at match

The eight-year-old was killed after being hit in the head while sitting in the stands at a match in the Dunkirk arena.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

An eight-year-old French boy died on Sunday after he was hit in the head by an ice hockey puck that flew into the stands at a professional match in Dunkirk, reports The Telegraph.

The tragedy occurred three minutes before the end of the second tier French championship match between Dunkirk and Reims on Saturday evening.

The boy, named only as Hugo, was hit on the ear and suffered cardiac arrest. Rescue workers on site were able to revive him, but he later died of his injuries in hospital.

A puck weighs around six ounces and can travel at more than 112 miles per hour when hit during a hockey match.

An inquiry has been opened to determine why the accident happened, but the rink was built to the required standards.

Read more of this AFP report published by The Telegraph.