Cape Town was visited by some distant cousin of hurricane Sandy yesterday, nailing the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl with 50km/h winds. Sadly for some concert goers, a massive advertising tower was blown over at Cape Town stadium, crashing to the ground, killing 1 and injuring 20+ others.

News24 put it like this:

The City of Cape Town said on Wednesday that a branding tower that collapsed outside the Cape Town Stadium ahead of the Linkin Park concert had been certified as safe.

Outside the stadium, the tower was blown over by a strong gust of wind just before 19:00, falling on people below, injuring 20.

The City said that the tower had been “pre-approved and certified safe, by structural engineers prior to the event”.

But according to a spokesperson at the Cape Town International Airport weather office, near-gale wind speeds topping 50km/h were registered in the City Bowl.

The City said that emergency personnel – including doctors, paramedics and disaster risk management – responded to the incident immediately, and he injured were treated on scene and taken to nearby hospitals for further medical attention.

[more here]

UPDATE: It is with great sadness that we can report that a young lady died from her wounds last night.

This is the statement from the band:

Linkin Park Issues Statement About Cape Town Accident (19 Injured, 1 Fatally Wounded)

“Following our performance tonight at Cape Town Stadium, we were advised that several people were injured as a result of the collapse of an advertising tower erected by Lucozade in the parking area outside the venue.

We wish to express our deep sadness and concern for those injured and our heartfelt condolences to the family of the fan who died as a result of her injuries.

Though we have had no relationship with the sponsor or the entity responsible for erecting the structure, we take the safety of our fans very seriously and our thoughts are with all of those who were affected by this tragedy.”

LPFC expresses the sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the girl that passed away.

[more here]

Authorities are yet to identify the fan.

Our thoughts go out to her family and friends.