A German Olympic coach was fighting for his life Saturday after suffering a severe head trauma in a taxi accident the day before. Stefan Henze, coach of Germany’s canoe-slalom team, was taken to the nearest hospital after the crash Friday morning, the German Olympic Sports Confederation, or DOSB, said in a press release.
He was subsequently transferred to a facility that was able to provide emergency brain surgery. Another member of the German delegation who was slightly injured in the crash, Christian Käding, has been discharged, DOSB added."It is a very severe injury," said Dr. Bernd Wolfharth, chief medical officer for the German Olympic team.
"He is in a life-threatening condition which has not changed during the last 12 hours."Local media reported that Henze was undergoing surgery at a municipal hospital around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday.
Rio’s Municipal Health Secretariat, which typically provides information on patients at city hospitals, referred all questions to the German Olympic delegation. Local tabloid Extra reported that the German consulate in Rio had asked the secretariat to refrain from providing information on Henze’s status. The German consulate didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.