Contractors working on Wheeling Island Stadium in West Virginia were attempting to pull down a concrete panel for examination on Monday when a second panel collapsed to the ground unexpectedly.
Nobody was hurt, but the panel did smash through a fence surrounding the site.
According to the Wheeling News-Register, a Friday inspection revealed some damage to one of the concrete slabs that make up the top of the stadium’s seating section. The accident occurred as contractors were working to pull the concrete panel down to assess what might have happened to it. Ohio County Schools Superintendent Kim Miller said that while inspections are ongoing, the panel appears to have been damaged due to weathering.
“It looks like the water getting down into the joists and rods may have caused this,” Miller told West Virginia MetroNews.
After both panels came down, a small crack was found in a third panel near the stadium, though Miller said there are no plans to remove more of them at this time.
“We have to wait for the engineers to take a look at this,” Miller told the News-Register. “If it is their suggestion, we will do whatever they tell us to do.”
Roads near the site have been closed as a safety precaution.
