First Thing: Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin in critical condition after cardiac arrest

The Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is in a critical condition in hospital after he had a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field last night, with the NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals suspended after the incident.

Hamlin was administered CPR and surrounded by teammates, some of them in tears, after he was hurt while tackling the Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.

Higgins led with his right shoulder, which hit Hamlin in the chest. Hamlin then wrapped his arms around Higgins’s shoulders and helmet to drag him down. Hamlin got to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, and then fell backward a few seconds later and lay motionless.

Hamlin was treated on the field by his team and independent medical personnel and local paramedics, the NFL said, and was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Teammate Stefon Diggs later joined Hamlin at the hospital.

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