Roof collapses at Vancouver sports stadium

The inflatable fabric roof of Vancouver's downtown sports stadium, scheduled to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, collapsed.

There were no injuries, and officials at BC Place Stadium said the incident - which one witness likened to watching a souffle implode - would not hamper its availability for the Olympics as the roof could be repaired. The cause of the accident at the stadium, which was opened in 1983 and has a seating capacity of 60,000, was not immediately known.

Witnesses said a large section of the fabric roof, held up by air pressure, appeared to have ripped open shortly before the roof deflated onto the playing field below.

The city on Canada's Pacific Coast, which has endured several severe winter storms over the past two months, was being hit by a rain and snowstorm when the collapse occurred.

The roof is made of 10.25 acres of Teflon-coated fibreglass fabric.

BC Place claims it is the world's largest air-supported domed stadium.