Volkswagen Platform at Brazilian Auto Show Collapses

10/28/96

Reuters has reported that a platform holding 80 journalists and Volkswagen company officials at the Brazil auto show collapsed last Thursday during a media event promoting a new Volkswagen model.

Police said the nine-foot-high steel and glass stand fell down in the middle of a news conference Volkswagen was holding at the Sao Paulo Auto Show. They said at least 30 people sustained minor injuries in the accident, including a journalist who broke a leg.

A Volkswagen Polo on display underneath the platform was destroyed. The company plans to launch the polo in Brazil next year. Valeria Baracat, a journalist at the event, said, "It was one hell of a crash. People and chairs began falling upon one another and several journalists were hurt by the splintered glass."

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel