Sports reporter Leo Hägglund was on site when a railing broke during the match between Bollnäs and Edsbyn on Saturday evening – and describes the incident as chaotic.
At the front was also his 13-year-old daughter, who is now going to the emergency room for a check-up.
– This is a brand new arena so you think that this is probably the last place it will happen, he says to TV4 Nyheterna.
Several spectators fell onto the ice and the match between Bollnäs and Edsbyn had to be interrupted when the railing broke. Leo Hägglund, sports reporter at The lightwitnessed the dramatic accident when he was on site in the arena.
– At first it was thought that it was people who had jumped out onto the ice, but then when it dawned on us that it was half the railing to the stand section that had come loose, you got speed under your feet to immediately run down and see what happened. There were really scary scenes, says Leo to TV4 Nyheterna.
The daughter stood at the front
Leo was there as if to photograph the match for Ljusnan. His 13-year-old daughter was also present in the arena to cheer on the match.
– Then it hit me at the same time that my daughter was standing at the front of the crowd watching the match.
How is your daughter?
– It’s good, but she has to go to the emergency room and have her knees checked. There were probably those who had a worse fate than her.
Therefore the railing broke
It is not yet confirmed why the railing could break. However, Leo managed to get an idea of what could be behind the incident.
– As we experienced, it was a verdict on Esbyn’s side in front of the heel. Then you would mark your dissatisfaction and then it became a forward movement. At the same time, the pressure became so hard that it buckled and then the front row fell down and got people on top of it.
– Children often stand at the front to see well. But in a thing like this, they are the ones who end up at the bottom of the resulting pile. It gets extra scary.
Chaotic in the bandy arena
Leo describes the situation in the arena after the accident as chaotic.
– Players from both Bollnäs and Edsbyn were there and tried to help and calm people down. It was the children of some players who had fallen onto the ice. So it was quite cut. Also inside the player corridor later.
Emergency services, police and ambulance arrived at the scene immediately. Officials at the arena also helped evacuate the arena.
– It was chaos from the start, but it was quickly sorted out.
Both the police and the arena company have started preliminary investigations to find out what went wrong.