An upper floor of a nightclub collapsed on top of dancing revelers in South Korea, killing two South Koreans and injuring several foreign water polo athletes competing at the World Aquatics Championships.
South Korean news agency Yonhap said authorities had confirmed nine foreign athletes were injured – four Americans, two New Zealanders, one Dutch, one Italian and one Brazilian.
The floor gave way at the Coyote Ugly nightclub in the city of Gwangju at about 2am on Saturday, pinning people underneath, a Gwangju Fire Department official said, adding that at least 17 people were injured.
“We were just dancing and then the next minute we dropped five to six meters and everyone started rushing out of the club after that,” New Zealand men’s water polo team captain Matt Small said.
Gwangju, about 330km south of the capital Seoul, has been hosting the championships, which feature swimming, water polo and diving, over the past fortnight.
A Gwangju police officer told Reuters two co-owners and two workers at the Coyote Ugly nightclub were being questioned about possible illegal expansion and renovation at the nightclub and the legality of its licensing process.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/foreign-athletes-among-injured-in-south-korea-fatal-balcony-collapse
Subscribe to International Fire Fighter today for FREE!