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Drone video captures millions in Argentina feting World Cup win

Though as soul-obliterating as the outcome of Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar was to France fans around the globe, it provided millions across the otherwise suffering Argentina cause for unchecked joy and celebration – some of which was captured in an arresting drone video filmed in Buenos Aires.

The drone video offers an aerial view of what were the doubtless millions of Argentina fans who descended upon Buenos Aires’ Plaza de la República Sunday to celebrate the nation’s first World Cup title since 1986. The 38-second clip was posted on the buenosaires.ar Instagram account of Martín “Tincho” Hernández, as well as the r/drones subreddit. It features what appears to be FPV footage of deliriously happy fans clad in white-and-blue-stripped jerseys of the World Cup champions. 

Among those are braver (or somewhat crazy) revelers perched atop what seem to be the exceptionally tall streetlights of central Buenos Aires, and people holding a large banner with the hero of the 1986 team – the late, great, and ever notorious Diego Maradona

Read: ‘Fun’ video of drones at work in DJI offices draws viewer raspberries 

After swooping in and flying lower over the crowd on one the cross-streets feeding into the Plaza de la República, the pilot zooms up to the central Obelisco. The drone then captures video as it ascends, tip over the top, and plunges down the pillar before leveling off above the masses while flying back where it came from ­– all backed by a favorite song of Argentina football fans. 

As impressive as the drone video is in immortalizing the elation that most Argentina fans believed would again escape them after their team lost the lead over France – three different times – it’s also evidence of the flagrant violation of the country’s drone laws that were involved in shooting it. Included in those rules are prohibitions of flying over people (an infraction multiplied by a factor of about a million in this case), or within 30 meters of any building. Ooops.

It’s unlikely, however, that the otherwise skillful pilot of the drone who took the video will land in hot water for breaking Argentina’s regulations. For starters, the owner presumably vanished in the surrounding crowd the second the craft landed. Meantime, the nation’s police ­– much like the rest of the country ­– are unlikely to stop celebrating and get back to work for another few weeks yet. Few will begrudge them any time taken off for that.

ReadEnglish pro soccer match delayed by illegal drone flight 

Indeed, in addition to representing an additional world title that repeatedly slipped from Argentina’s hands in the past few decades, Sunday’s World Cup victory marked a rare occasion for the country to momentarily forget nearly its nearly 100% inflation rate, general economic gloom, and a troubled political situation that includes the former leader and current vice president having been convicted for corruption earlier this month. What’s an illegal drone flight measured against all that?

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Avatar for Bruce Crumley Bruce Crumley

Bruce Crumley is journalist and writer who has worked for Fortune, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, The Guardian, AFP, and was Paris correspondent and bureau chief for Time magazine specializing in political and terrorism reporting. He splits his time between Paris and Biarritz, and is the author of novel Maika‘i Stink Eye.