Paralympic athlete killed by falling discus-throwing cage
A PARALYMPIC athlete was killed when a metal discus cage collapsed on him during a training session.
Witnesses told how paramedics tried in vain to save Abdullah Hayayei, 36, as fellow athletes lifted the structure.
Rumbi Sambana, 34, said: “These people, I’d describe them as superhuman heroes, were lifting the cage so paramedics could treat him.” Married dad-of- five Abdullah, who represented the United Arab Emirates, died of head trauma at Newham Leisure Centre, East London, on Tuesday. He was practising ahead of the World Para Athletics Championships, which start tomorrow. The discus, javelin and shot put thrower made his Paralympic debut in Rio last September. Majid Rashed, of the UAE’s Paralympic Committee, said of the accident: “We do not know how and why it happened.”