Stadium Crowding Led to Disaster, Officials Say
Officials investigating the collapse of a stadium’s roof during a soccer match said overcrowding was the main cause of the accident, which killed two people and led to riots.
As many as 20,000 people were packed into Mottaqi stadium--which has a capacity of 10,000--at the time of Sunday’s accident in the northeastern town of Sari, the official news agency said. Many fans had climbed onto the fiberglass roof to watch the game, and it collapsed under their weight.
After the accident, angry fans clashed with police trying to make their way into the stadium, where more than 300 people were injured.
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