Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves dies after crash during Dakar Rally

Jeddah: Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves, racing on motorbike number eight, has passed away following a crash in the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

He met with a fatal accident after 276 kilometers of the 339-mile route Dakar Rally ride from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir.

"The organisers received an alert at 10:08 and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10:16 and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest. Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead," the organisers said in a statement.