Fourteen people were injured as a result of the collapse of spectator seats at a circus in Cherepovets on Wednesday evening. According to the city department of the Civil Defense and Emergency Situations, the incident occurred at the Shapito-Aqua circus, which came on tour from Ivanovo. At about 19.30, immediately after the intermission, when spectators began to take their seats, one of the sectors with wooden benches, on which there were several dozen people, suddenly collapsed. People fell from a height of about two meters. As a result, two girls (9 and 10 years old) and an elderly woman were sent to the hospital with numerous bruises and a suspected spinal fracture. Another 11 spectators were treated on the spot. Rescue teams, police, prosecutors and the FSB immediately arrived at the scene of the emergency and began checking the version of a possible terrorist attack or sabotage. However, yesterday the regional prosecutor's office reported that it was not confirmed. An investigation is currently underway and a violation of safety regulations during construction work is being considered as the main version. “When attaching the benches, there were no transverse stiffeners; they were installed not on a solid base, but directly on the ground; in addition, the installation of the seats was carried out not by specialists, but by circus workers,” said First Deputy Prosecutor of the Vologda Region Nikolai Plotnikov. “According to eyewitnesses, the shops began to fall one after another, like a house of cards.”
