A fan was taken to hospital after falling from the upper area of PPG Paints Arena during the match on Monday (27) night between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues, in a game valid for the NHL — the ice hockey league.
It happened at the beginning of the first period, right after Anthony Mantha’s goal that put the Penguins up 2-0.
Emergency personnel treated the fan, a man whose identity was not revealed, before transporting him to Mercy, located a few blocks from the arena.
The game was not interrupted at any time while the man was being treated. According to information from Pittsburgh police to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the fan is in critical condition.
“Our concerns remain for the individual and his family at this time,” the Penguins said in a statement.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who became the ninth player in NHL history to score 1,700 points, said the team only found out after the game.
“It doesn’t feel right to talk about points when we hear something like that,” Crosby said. “Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with this person and their family, and we hope they are okay.”
Penguins coach Dan Muse shared Crosby’s sentiments.
“We all come here for a sport and a game, and when you hear something like that, everything else takes a backseat,” Muse said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family”.
Other cases
This is the third such outage at sporting events in Pittsburgh this year.
In May, Kavan Markwood fell over the railing at the top of the 21-foot-high Clement Wall and onto the field during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs at PNC Park.
Markwood was hospitalized for several days but recovered. An acquaintance of Markwood was later accused of supplying it to him, who was 20 years old at the time of the incident.
On Saturday night, an employee at Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, suffered leg injuries after falling approximately 15 meters while working near the stadium scoreboard.
