At least 27 injured when stands collapse during basketball game in Egypt

At least 27 people were injured when stands partly collapsed Saturday during a basketball game in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, health authorities said.

Officials said part of the seats fell on spectators at the Super Cup match between Cairo’s Al-Ahly and Ittihad of Alexandria following a stampede in the stands.

The game at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo’s 6th of October district was called off following the incident, according to local media.

Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said in a statement that most of the injured suffered broken bones. He said they were taken to hospitals and their injuries were not life threatening.

Mohamed Fawzi, a spokesman for the Sports Ministry, told a local television channel that the stands collapsed because of a stampede by Ittihad supporters.

Footage on social media showed a metal stands collapsed in the multi-purpose arena, which is named for Hassan Moustafa, head of the International Handball Federation. It opened three years ago ahead of the 2021 World Men’s Handball Championship, which Egypt hosted.

Sports incidents are not uncommon in Egypt.

A 2012 riot in the coastal city of Port Said caused more than 70 deaths in one of the world’s worst soccer-related incidents.

In 2015, 22 fans were died during a stampede prompted by heavy tear gas fired by police outside a stadium in a Cairo suburb.