Near-Miss Camera Crash

Fire in the Rig, Camera Falls 65 Feet

Smoke started pouring from the Spidercam unit suspended high above the pitch in the 20th minute, Al Jazeera reported. A Spidercam is a camera hung by wires above the field that moves during broadcasts. This one weighed about 14 kilograms — roughly 31 pounds — and hung more than 20 meters, or 65 feet, above the ground.

By the 25th minute, a fire inside the camera's housing had damaged a primary cable, according to Anadolu Agency. The rig then fell and hit the pitch just inside the touchline. It landed about two meters from a cameraman stationed at the side of the field. Broadcast experts noted that at that height and weight, the impact could have been fatal, per PetaPixel.

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Play Paused While Crew Secured the Pitch

Referee officials stopped the match at the 26th minute. Players took an unplanned drinks break while ground crew rushed on to remove the wreckage, the Free Press Journal reported. Safety checks were carried out on the remaining overhead cables before the game was cleared to go on.

Play resumed around the 31st minute after officials confirmed the area was safe. The stoppage lasted roughly five minutes. Nagyerdei Stadium holds 20,340 fans and carries a UEFA Category 4

Play resumed around the 31st minute after officials confirmed no further danger. The whole stoppage lasted roughly five minutes. Hungary's Football Federation confirmed no injuries among players, staff, or spectators, according to AOL News.

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Hungary Rallied to Win 3-1 Despite the Scare

Kazakhstan had actually led the game. Defender Sergiy Malyi scored in the 9th minute to put the visitors up 1-0. That lead held through the chaos of the camera crash and into the second half.

Hungary then turned it around. Szoboszlai equalized in the 52nd minute, Andras Schafer made it 2-1 in the 67th, and Rajmund Toth sealed it in the 90th-plus minute, per Fox Sports. Neither side had qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicked off the same week.

Safety Questions Reach Beyond One Stadium

The crash has renewed debate about aerial camera safety in football grounds. Some safety advocates are calling for all Spidercam rigs to carry mandatory backup tethers, the Free Press Journal noted. The Rio 2016 Olympics saw a similar aerial camera fall injure seven people — though that failure was a cable tension issue, not a fire.

Broadcast providers for the 2026 World Cup are now expected to inspect aerial rigs across all 16 host cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico, according to reporting cited by News.com.au. The destroyed rig was worth an estimated $250,000 to $400,000. Critics argue that while security at World Cup venues focuses on external drone threats, malfunctioning internal equipment now demands equal attention.

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