On May 5, 1992, on the French island of Corsica, local football club Bastia were hosting Marseille for a French Cup semi-final. But what should have been a day of celebration turned into a nightmare. Less than 10 minutes before the start of the match, the top of the temporary metal stand that had been installed to double the Furiani stadium's capacity collapsed. Hundreds of people fell dozens of metres to the ground in a tangle of metal: many crushed in the collapse, others in the mayhem that followed. In total, 19 people were killed and more than 2,300 injured. Three decades on, Annabel Lecouffe-Robaglia, Florie Castaingts and Thierry Derouet went to meet survivors and victims’ families.
Furiani remains the worst sporting disaster in French history. The case went to court in 1995. Those involved were sentenced to up to two years in jail, although most sentences were later reduced or suspended. Thirty years on, what has become of those caught up in the tragedy? Have the scars healed, and what has been done to ensure that such an accident never happens again?
