Ad tower was deemed safe, City says

Cape Town - 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.

Two people had sustained serious injuries, ER24 paramedics said in a statement.

Reports said the majority of the injured were women doing promotional work.

The site where the incident occurred was declared safe not long after the remainder of the structure was dismantled, according to the City.

The concert went ahead as scheduled, however, and no announcements of the incident were made inside the stadium.