Stadium Roof Collapses in St. Petersburg, Killing Worker – Reports

Updated: Jan. 31, 2020

Video credit: Fontanka.ru

The roof of the SKK ice hockey stadium in St. Petersburg collapsed during dismantling work on Friday, killing one worker who was dragged down into the rubble.

Dramatic footage of the collapse, in which a worker is seen running and failing to grab onto a man cage suspended by a crane as the structure crumbles, was posted by the Fontanka news website.

Rescue workers later found the body of 29-year-old worker Matvei Kucherov, the news website reported. The man reportedly left the man cage without a safety line to do work on the roof before it collapsed.

The regional Investigative Committee hasn't opened criminal proceedings into the incident, Fontanka cited a spokesperson as saying.

Russia's Emergency Services Ministry was cited as saying that 80% of the stadium's walls had collapsed.

The Soviet-era St. Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex (SKK) had been slated for demolition after falling into disrepair. Local architects protested the demolition plans, arguing that the 1980 building was an icon of Soviet neoconstructivist architecture.

This article is being updated.

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