French football game is abandoned after safety barrier collapses

At least 26 people have been injured and four are in a serious condition after a barrier collapsed at a top-flight French football match.

Injured fans have been rushed away from the 12,000-capacity Stade de la Licorne stadium in Amiens by ambulance after people plummeted several feet from the stand down onto the pitch level.

Fans in the away stand were celebrating Fode Ballo-Toure's opener in the 15th minute when the stand collapsed.

As Ballo-Toure ran towards fans after scoring his goal, Lille fans were seen surging towards the fence.

The game was called off after 30 minutes of deliberation by security officials.

Horrific footage from the scene shows hundreds of fans piling on top of one another as the barrier gave way, with Lille fans higher in the stand desperately trying to pull people up to safety.

Emergency services and fans in the stand flooded onto the pitch in a bid to avoid the crush.

The stadium was fully evacuated following the incident.

Amiens's Twitter account posted a picture of a love-heart with a message in French which is roughly translated as 'Wholeheartedly with the wounded. We hope that's not too bad' following the incident.

De tout cœur avec les blessés. On espère que ce n'est pas trop grave. pic.twitter.com/SW1F2Ks3kx

— Amiens SC (@AmiensSC) September 30, 2017