Concrete falls in lot at Montreal's Olympic Stadium

Engineers from the Olympic Park and the Saputo Stadium have been called in to find out what caused a giant concrete block to fall Sunday from the ceiling of an underground parking facility in Montreal's Olympic Stadium.

No one was injured in the incident, Montreal fire operations Chief Benoit Brouillard told CBC News.  However, there are now concerns there could be more problems now that the structure has been weakened.

Firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 3 p.m. ET after a security guard spotted the fallen slab — measuring eight by 12 metres — shortly after 3 p.m.

Brouillard said the debris, comprising the slab and two pillars supporting it, struck a water pipe, causing minor flooding. Some small cracks were also visible in the ceiling of the lot's first floor, he said.

The surface level of the lot is a construction zone for the new Saputo Stadium, but no one on site would say whether the collapse was connected with the work. The lot will remain closed while studies are conducted.

Stadium officials believe damage is limited to this particular lot, but wouldn't rule out closing the stadium's other underground lots if other problems surface. The stadium property is inspected regularly, officials said, but could not say exactly how often.

The incident at Montreal's biggest sporting facility is the latest sign of the city's crumbling infrastructure. It comes two weeks before the Montreal Impact is scheduled to play its first Major League Soccer game at the stadium.

Team spokesman Patrick Vallee said since the collapse was not inside the stadium the March 17 game against the Chicago Fire would go ahead as planned.

Last fall, the Quebec government invited residents to come up with proposals for what to do with the seldom-used $1-billion stadium.