Fan dies after falling from stand at stadium of World Cup opening ceremony

A tragic incident

The incident happened during the Mexico - Portugal friendly on Saturday, the security officials have said in a statement on X.

As reported by The New York Times, the Mexico City Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently confirmed that, according to initial reports, the supporter fell from the stadium’s VIP box area onto the car park.

“Mexico City Public Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalía CDMX) deeply regrets the death of a person on Saturday, 28 March inside the Banorte Stadium, prior to the start of the Mexican national team’s friendly match”, a statement posted on X read.

“From the outset, officials from the Attorney General’s Office, forensic experts and officers from the Investigative Police attended the scene to commence the necessary investigations. The area was cordoned off, the scene was secured, and evidence was collected by experts specialising in criminalistics, photography and forensic medicine”, it added.

“Furthermore, analysis of CCTV footage from the stadium and its entrances is underway, as is the collection of statements from people who were at the scene, with the aim of accurately reconstructing the sequence of events and determining potential liability.”

“Similarly, the statutory post-mortem procedure is currently underway to establish with certainty the cause of death, as well as the physical condition of the individual at the time of the fall.”

“The Mexico City Public Prosecutor’s Office will continue its investigations thoroughly and will keep the public informed as relevant developments arise, in strict accordance with the principles of due process.”

The Estadio Banorte stadium, which reopened Saturday after a multi-year renovation in preparation for the World Cup this summer, will host the opener of the tournament on June 11, between Mexico and South America.

A total of five matches of the World Cup will be played in the stadium. Previously, the stadium hosted two World Cup opening matches, in 1970 and 1986.

The Athletic, the sports journalism department of The New York Times, reports that security officials and fans at the stadium knew little about what happened.

As per The Athletic, the incident was not widely publicised during the match inside the stadium, which went ahead as scheduled.