Incident occurs just before opening of world wheelchair basketball tourney but participants evacuated safely

A section of the fabric roof at Indoor Stadium Huamark collapsed just before the opening of the 2023 Women’s U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship on Tuesday evening.

The incident at the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) facility on Ramkhamhaeng Road happened at 5pm, approximately 15 minutes before the opening ceremony of the event that gathered participants from 10 countries.

Some members of the broadcasting crew at the scene were injured, SAT governor Kongsak Yodmanee said. However, athletes and other participants were still in the passages of the stadium, which was then evacuated right away.

Mr Kongsak said the roof structure at the stadium was almost six decades old but it had undergone maintenance a few years ago. A severe downpour just before the opening ceremony proved too much for the structure, however. 

The SAT would move the basketball tournament to the Bangkok Youth Centre run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in Din Daeng district, he said.