PARAGUAY STADIUM COLLAPSES

CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay-Families of victims killed during a sports stadium collapse in Paraguay's second-largest city, Ciudad del Este, are preparing to sue the local company that built it.

Thirty-six people were killed and more than 100 were injured as high winds hit the stadium during a political rally Sept. 4. About 3,000 people were in the stadium at the time.

The stadium belonged to a local sports club called 3 de Febrero but is unlikely to have been insured because of its poor construction, local insurance sources say. The roof of the stadium was made from galvanized steel and was supported by columns.

It had already collapsed twice earlier this year, says Gerardo Torcuda, president of Aseguradora Paraguyana S.A., an Asuncion-based general insurance company.

"Winds of 70 to 80 kilometers per hour (43 to 50 mph) lasting for 10 to 20 to 30 minutes are usual in this area, but the columns could not hold up the roof," said Mr. Torcuda. Ciudad del Este is 185 miles east of Asuncion, near Paraguay's Argentina border.

The Paraguayan government has appointed a judge to investigate the cause of the accident. Information on the construction company that built the stadium and its insurance coverage were not available last week.