Argentina's World Cup heroes had to abandon an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires on Tuesday as millions of ecstatic fans flooded onto the streets and brought the city to a standstill, with Lionel Messi and his team mates whisked into helicopters to complete the celebrations.
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The players who were triumphant in Sunday's World Cup final in Qatar were unable to reach the central Obelisco monument as planned because the route was completely blocked by the heaving crowd, estimated by local media at over four million people.
With social media footage showing some fans trying to jump onto the team's bus when it passed under a bridge, the scheduled eight-hour journey was cut short due to security fears. The players were transferred from their parade bus and into helicopters.
"The world champions are flying over the entire route in helicopters because it became impossible to continue on land due to the explosion of joy," presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter.
