Over 200 people were injured after a makeshift audience gallery suddenly collapsed before the start of a football match in the Malappuram district of Kerala. The incident took place on Saturday night when a local football tournament was underway at Poongod.
According to the police, more than 1000 people had climbed over the stands without any safety concern, which led to the accident.
A terrifying video of the incident has also been shared by news agency ANI, where one can see the temporary gallery falling on the people who were watching the match, triggering panic inside the stadium.
#WATCH Temporary gallery collapsed during a football match in Poongod at Malappuram yesterday; Police say around 200 people suffered injuries including five with serious injuries#Kerala pic.twitter.com/MPlTMPFqxV
— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2022
Notably, all the injured people were taken to nearby hospitals, and five people are said to be in serious condition.
As per local reports, several children also got injured in the incident. The locals are claiming that the organiser's inability to restrict the crowd from entering the temporary gallery caused the accident. The gallery made of wood and ropes were not strong enough to hold such large crowds.
Police said the incident occurred at around 9 PM when the sevens final match between two local teams was being played. “The injured have been admitted to the nearby hospitals,” police said.
Regional football tournaments in the northern district of Kerala are quite popular and thus the matches had attracted spectators in thousands.
