Eight people died Sunday after a section of stands at a soccer
stadium in northeastern Brazil collapsed as cheering fans jumped up
and down at the end of a game, police said.
A soccer stadium in
northeastern Brazil collapsed as cheering fans jumped up and down
at the end of a game, November, 25, 2007.
At least nine people fell through a section of the highest
bleachers at the Fonte Nova stadium in the coastal city of
Salvador, and eight were killed, said Major Edmilson Tavares of the
city's federal police.
Television images showed what appeared to be a hole in the
bleachers. Tavares said it was not clear what caused the collapse,
but Brazilian media reports said the 56-year-old stadium recently
came under heavy criticism for the precarious condition of its
stands.
The accident happened just before the end of the game, when fans
of the Bahia soccer team went into a wild celebration, storming the
field when their team managed a goalless draw with Vila Nova,
securing Bahia a place in the nation's second division.
Fans were jumping up and down in glee when a hole measuring
several meters wide opened in the concrete floor of the stand. The
victims fell several stories to the ground.
Tavares said he could not immediately confirm how many people
had been injured, but Globo TV reported dozens were hurt.
About 60,000 people were at the stadium for the game, and many
didn't realize that the section of bleachers had given way as they
invaded the field in celebration.
The stadium was built in 1951, according to the Website of
Salvador's A Tarde newspaper.
A survey of soccer stadiums released last month by Brazil's
Sinaeco association of architects and engineers said the Fonte
Nova's stands were "in ruins," A Tarde reported.
The newspaper said Fonte Nova was evaluated as part of a study
of Brazilian soccer venues because Brazil will host the 2014 World
Cup. Salvador would almost certainly get some of the games.
Brazil, which has won a record five World Cups, was awarded the
rights last month to host the 2014 tournament by FIFA, soccer's
governing body. Latin America's largest country hosted the
competition once before, in 1950.
The state governor of Bahia state, Jacques Wagner, ordered the
Fonte Nova stadium closed while authorities investigate the cause
of the accident.
(Shanghai Daily November 26, 2007)
