Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardin Bella Vista cemetery for the burial of Diego Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego; fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along roads as Maradona’s funeral car drove by under heavy security
Diego Maradona was buried on Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people.
Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation.
Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardin Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego.
Fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along roads as Maradona’s funeral car drove by under heavy security. Many tried to touch the vehicle whenever it was stopped by traffic.
Diego Maradona was buried on Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people.
Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation.
Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardin Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego.
Fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along roads as Maradona’s funeral car drove by under heavy security. Many tried to touch the vehicle whenever it was stopped by traffic.
But with the time for viewing the coffin at the presidential palace drawing short, police moved to cut off the back end of the crowd, enraging fans who hurled rocks and other objects at officers, who responded with rubber bullets.
The crowd overwhelmed organisers and the violence resulted in injuries and arrests, which led Maradona’s family to end the public visitation. The casket was placed in a car that carried the former footballer’s name on a paperboard by the window.
Desperate to say goodbye, Maradona’s fans climbed on the fences of the presidential mansion as if they were in a football stadium, while firefighters worked to clear the ground.
“Diego is not dead, Diego lives in the people,” the crowd chanted as the coffin was taken to a cemetery outside Buenos Aires.
The motorcade, accompanied by police, was followed on a local
highway by dozens of honking cars and motorcycles.
Hundreds of fans blocked entry to the cemetery before the arrival of Maradona’s
casket, dancing and chanting as police moved in to open a way. The crowd
continued making noise after the final ceremony began.
