Victims who plummeted to the ground when a grandstand safety rail gave way have spoken out about the dramatic fall, which left some with broken bones, concussions and bruises.
The pileup, which unfolded in front of 15,000 people, took place during a St Joseph’s College vs. Saint Ignatius College rugby game at Leichhardt Oval in Lilyfield – located in Sydney’s inner west – on Saturday.
More than 30 spectators, aged 18-21, fell victim to what has been described as a “third world” grandstand after a safety rail gave way.
Flynn Thompsett and Oscar Secombe were both on the stand at the time of the incident and have spoken out about the ordeal.
“I was right up the front on the fence at the time and obviously the Joeys had scored a try, the next thing the fence has fallen, I’ve gone down head first on to the cement. Followed by a bunch of 20 other boys on top of me,” Oscar told the Today Show.
“I was in a bit of shock, as everyone was obviously – I saw a nurse afterwards and she said I had a concussion and did a bit of damage to my knee as well.”
College graduate Joseph Cant, 19, who was also involved in the incident, said footage – which was circulating on social media – showed his legs kicked up in the air as he plunged into the air.
“I was at the front to the right. Zoom into the video and you‘d see my legs flick up,” he said.
“There were people landing on top of each other.”
Multiple investigations are under way following the incident, with Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis revealing the club had been calling for an upgrade of the ground for “some time”.
“We‘ve been saying for some time that the state of the facility at Leichhardt is substandard, it’s third world and potentially dangerous. What we saw was the fulfilment of that potential,” he said.
The state government has backflipped on a pledge to upgrade suburban NRL grounds like Leichhardt, promising instead to spend the money on flood victims.
The council already has plans to upgrade parts of the stadium, including the viewing platform and the amenities block.
NSW Labor environment spokeswoman Penny Sharpe bit back at the state government for “making promises they clearly can‘t keep”,
In a statement, Mayor Darcy Byrne said the council was investigating the safety concerns surrounding the incident.
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