One person died and 10 others were hospitalized after part of the stadium of soccer club FC Twente in the city of Enschede collapsed today during construction.
The Grolsch Veste stadium in Enschede is being expanded to hold 30,000 people, according to the club’s website. The roof of one of the stands came down at noon, Den Oudsten said, adding that it’s too early to say what caused the collapse. Another three people were treated at the site.
Construction workers ran for their lives as the roof, on which other people were working, fell, eyewitnesses told the Dutch ANP newswire. About 10 fire trucks, 20 to 25 ambulances and a rescue helicopter were at the stadium, it said.
FC Twente was runner-up to Amsterdam’s AFC Ajax in the Dutch soccer league last season. The stadium, which was previously named the Arke Stadion, dates from 1998. The works were in their final phase, FC Twente commercial director Jan van Halst told the news conference.