Argentina's Buenos Aires Victory Parade Halted, Players Evacuated on Helicopters

The new world champions returned home with the trophy in the early hours of Tuesday.

Argentina's World Cup-winning squad celebrate on top of a bus during the victory parade in Buenos Aires.

(Photo: PTI)

The FIFA World Cup trophy finally returned to South America after 20 long years, since Brazil captured the prize in 2002. Lionel Messi's Argentina were the last ones standing in Qatar as they defeated defending champions France 4-2 on penalties in the final on Sunday night.

The official parade in the capital city of Buenos Aires to celebrate the Argentina team took place on Tuesday, with an estimated four million fans in attendance. Fans could be seen as far as the naked eye could go- on rooftops, bridges, lampposts as a national holiday was declared in the country to celebrate the victory.

The parade began at the Ezeiza camp in Buenos Aires, with the players being taken around in an open-top bus, celebrating the victory with the people.

Some players started posting images of the parade, celebrating and enjoying this huge moment in the country's history.

Rodrigo De Paul tweeted, "Don't look for money, look for glory, be world champions that people will remember and thank you for a lifetime. 5 MILLION PEOPLE. WE ARE DIFFERENT".

Soon, however, the situation got the better of some people. Fans could be seen attempting to jump on to the bus carrying the players, injuring themselves in the process.

The parade was to conclude at the Obelisco de Buenos Aires, but incidents like these forced security to end the parade. Players were advised to leave on helicopters, as they would be seen flying over Buenos Aires moments after this incident.

Players have now gone back to their separate hometowns, to celebrate with fans there.