36 Killed in Paraguay Stadium Collapse

A storm struck a stadium in a Paraguayan border town early Friday, killing 36 people. The victims had no way to escape from the structure that crumbled around them, witnesses said.

“The number of victims has risen to 36, and there are more than 100 injured,” national police spokesman Pablo Marin told local radio. Public Health Minister Andres Vidovich said earlier that 500 people had been treated for injuries.

Strong winds blew down a large metal awning and concrete wall at the stadium in Ciudad del Este, about 180 miles east of Asuncion, the capital, where 3,000 people gathered late Thursday night for a rally of the ruling Colorado Party.

The cheering, flag-waving party supporters had gathered at the complex for the final rally of a campaign that will end with Sunday’s primary elections to pick candidates for the presidency, governorships and Congress. The event was about to end when the winds struck.

“Suddenly the lights went out, and the stage split in two,” said Sen. Juan Carlos Galaverna, who was giving one of the closing speeches. “We fell to the ground. Doctors say I lost about 15 teeth and fractured my right ankle.

“I still don’t know how I survived,” he said.

The concrete wall and zinc roof collapsed on top of the stage, catapulting politicians, cement blocks and sheets of metal on top of spectators. Many of the dead were buried under the collapsed wall, police said.

“The confusion was total, people did not know where to escape because the roof fell down completely and covered the entire place,” a witness said.

Television showed pictures of the makeshift structure leveled, with debris and chairs strewn everywhere inside. There were pools of blood on the dirt floor.

“This is the worst case ever of its kind in Paraguay,” Vidovich said.

Rescue workers were hampered by a blackout caused by the storm, but President Juan Carlos Wasmosy said all the bodies had been recovered from the stadium by midmorning Friday.

National Police Cmdr. Ruben Arias said construction experts had begun an investigation of the accident.

The makeshift structure that went up just over a week ago had no foundation, according to media reports. One of the walls of the stadium was still under repair after recently caving in.

Police said 20 of the wounded were in serious condition.

Wasmosy said the party primaries would go ahead on Sunday.