ROME (AP) — Juventus fans watching the Champions League final rushed out of a Turin piazza in panic Saturday after witnesses reported hearing a loud sound.
At least one person was carried away on a stretcher and medics treated fans in the square for cuts and other injuries sustained in the near-stampede.
Thousands of people had gathered in Piazza San Carlo to watch the match pitting Juventus against Real Madrid on giant TV screens. At a certain point, hundreds ran from the center after some reported hearing a loud sound, an explosion or a shot, said Associated Press journalist Brian Hendrie, who was in the square.
“At that moment, I saw the entire piazza went in the direction next to the screen to escape, all in a panic,” he said. “They ran, fell on the ground on the glass.”
He said some reported having heard a small explosion, others a shot. “I heard five or six different versions. It sparked a panic.”
Within minutes, dazed fans in Juve’s trademark black and white jerseys returned and milled about the piazza amid the broken bottles and garbage littering the cobblestones.
Real Madrid won 4-1 in the match played in Cardiff, Wales.