Fan falls to death in Argentina stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, June 6^th, 2023

Image: River Plate

A pall of gloom descended on the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 3^rd when a fan going by the name of Pablo Marcelo Serrano lost his life after falling from the Sivori Alta Stand of the facility.

‘MSN’ stated that the above tragic incident took place in the River Plate Stadium during a league match between the Argentine professional sports club River Plate and their peer team Defensa Y Justicia.

The 84,567-capacity Estadio Monumental, officially the Estadio Más Monumental for sponsorship reasons, and popularly known as the ‘River Plate Stadium’, ‘Monumental de Núñez’, or simply ‘El Monumental’, is a stadium in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and serves as the home venue of Club Atlético River Plate.

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The Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the City’s estuary, the Río de la Plata. It plays in the Primera División – the top division of the Argentine football league system.

The Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina, established in 1935. It currently plays in the Primera División, the top division of the Argentine football league system. The 20,000-capacity Norberto Tomaghello Stadium in Gobernador Costa, Argentina, serves as their home ground.

‘MSN’ further stated that following the above tragic incident, the match was suspended after 26 minutes and the venue was evacuated. However, no violence or third party intervention was reported though there was a lot of cacophony among the crowd.

It is reported that the fan climbed on to one of the gates of the Sivori Alta Stand and accidentally fell down. So intense was the impact of the fall that the supporter died on the spot.

After the game was suspended, the crowd slowly began to leave the stadium.

The cameras inside the arena captured the unfortunate incident and the club said the security agencies and the Fiscal Unit Specialized in Mass Events have begun investigations and are scrutinizing the images to ascertain as to what exactly led to Serrano’s death. The stand was also closed on June 3^rd for 24 hours for security-related reasons as well as to gather evidence.

The Club Atlético River Plate have condoled the death of the fan through its social media platforms.

Packed Stand

‘ESPN’ stated that the club sent out a statement which read, “A supporter fell from the Sivori Alta stand and died on the spot. The medical service arrived instantly in the area as did the police and various security agencies. The stand where the deceased had his season ticket was at 90 percent capacity. At the time of the fall, there was no third party intervention. It was also found that there was no violent situation in the stand or around him.”

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