In Česká Třebová, the roof of the sports hall collapsed

Czech Třebová - In Czech Třebová, in the Orlickoústecko region, the roof of a newly opened sports hall collapsed this evening. No one was injured. The building is closed, and the cause of the collapse is under investigation by the police, said Lenka Vilímková, spokesperson for the Orlickoústecká police. The hall was built by the Pardubice region for 58 million crowns. According to the governor of Pardubice Region, Martin Netolický (Czech Social Democratic Party), a floorball tournament was taking place in the hall at the time of the incident.

"Before 21:00, the trusses began to collapse, and the pressure progressed throughout the entire hall until it completely fell in," Netolický said. According to him, the hall was approved on January 2. "I personally will reject any discussion that the cause was related to the snow; such a structure must withstand incomparably greater stress," Netolický said, noting that there is an estimated 40 centimeters of snow in Czech Třebová. The regional government has called a meeting for Sunday to address the entire situation. Netolický only stated today that he would insist on punishing those responsible.

The hall was built by the regional government on the premises of the Higher Vocational School and Secondary Technical School in Czech Třebová. In addition to students, sports clubs focused on floorball, volleyball, and basketball were also supposed to use the hall. The regional government stated that the new hall has a rectangular footprint of approximately 51 by 26 meters. There are six changing rooms for a total of 72 athletes, along with showers.