A football fan died at the Estadio Banorte on Saturday, after falling from a box seat in the build-up to a World Cup warm-up friendly. Mexico will host this summer's tournament alongside the United States and Canada.
After a series of renovations, the Estadio Banorte reopened this weekend to host a clash between Mexico and Portugal. However, the grand return to action at the iconic venue was overshadowed by tragedy.
As per Reuters, a man fell from the second level of VIP box seats after attempting to make his way to the first level by climbing the exterior of the structure. Officials claim that the individual was intoxicated, and sadly fell to the ground floor in the process of his movement.
A statement released on social media read:
"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.
"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.
"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."
It comes as the Estadio Banorte is set to play host to a World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, when Mexico face South Africa in the tournament's curtain raiser. It will also become the first venue to host matches in three different World Cups.
On top of the game on June 11, the venue will also host group stage games between Uzbekistan and Colombia, Mexico and the Czech Republic or Denmark, a round of 32 encounter and another in the last 16.
Saturday's game between Mexico and Portugal still went ahead as planned despite the incident, with the two teams playing out a goalless draw.
