At least 10 injured as stand collapses during match at Bengaluru Football Stadium

Bengaluru: At least 10 people reportedly were injured after a portion of lower part of the Bengaluru Football Stadium’s Northern Stand collapsed during the Chief Minister’s Cup final between Shantinagar MLA Constituency and CV Raman Nagar MLA Constituency here on Sunday.  

The entire Western and Northern galleries were packed with spectators and the front portion of the Northern gallery sunk under the weight as a number of spectators came crashing down. The horrific incident was caught on camera by a spectator who has posted the chilling video on the social media.  

“Around the 35th minute, a part of the gallery of North Stand collapsed and a huge portion fell down. People started to panic and run away, ambulances came and took around 10-15 injured people,” Merwin Immanuel, who was present at the scene, told DH.

“One person got hit on his head by a falling block and was seriously injured. (NA) Haris (president of KSFA) was seated in the next section itself,” Immanuel added.

Just over 10 days ago DH had reported on the potential danger some of the worn out stands at the football stadium pose to the spectators and that the authorities needed to urgently address the concerns. Nothing was done to rectify the delicate structure and the worst fears came true. 

The Karnataka Women’s League matches were played on Monday with the unsettling backdrop of the rubble.

Several calls to KSFA and BDFA officials on the incident went unanswered. This harrowing event unfolded in the presence of former India captain Sunil Chhetri, and Karnataka Olympic Association president K Govindaraj.

DH, in a detailed spot report, had highlighted the stadium’s poor state in the edition dated July 12.