Durham have begun an investigation after a woman was left with a broken leg and two other spectators were injured when part of a stand at Chester-le-Street collapsed during the T20I between England and West Indies.

The incident took place at around 9.30pm, midway during England's innings, in the north-east corner of the ground. Around 200 spectators were moved out of the area for the remainder of the match after a section of the floor appeared to have caved in. It was confirmed on Sunday that a woman was treated for a broken leg at Newcastle RVI hospital.

The club said that the stand was a permanent fixture at the ground, rather than additional seating brought in to lift capacity for internationals, and that it had passed safety inspections ahead of the T20.

A statement during the match said: "During the course of the second innings between England v West Indies at Emirates Riverside, three spectators were injured when a small section of the North-East Terrace flooring became unstable causing them to fall.

"Stewards took precautionary action and evacuated that area of the stand efficiently. The stand is a permanent fixture at the venue and had passed inspections in the week prior to the match."

On Sunday, the club added: "Following last night's fixture at Emirates Riverside three spectators were injured as a result of an incident in the in the North-East Terrace.

"At this early stage, it appears that part of the flooring failed.

"Durham County Cricket Club is currently undertaking its own full and thorough investigation into this incident and will cooperate fully with any investigation by any third party. No further comment will be made by the club until those investigations are complete."

The Riverside, which has hosted 26 international fixtures since being opened in 1995, was recently barred from hosting Test matches following a financial bail-out from the ECB that also resulted in the club losing its first-division status.

On the field, West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite revealed the match was close to being abandoned after he had queried the under-foot conditions with the umpires following rain towards the end of the England innings.

Brathwaite's concerns were raised when Chadwick Walton, the wicketkeeper, slipped badly behind the stumps and required treatment although he was able to continue. During the break in play, the outfield as roped by the groundstaff and two overs later Brathwaite was again in conversation with the officials.

"I had a chat with a few of the boys in a huddle while Chadwick was getting treatment and most of them said it was unsafe,'' Brathwaite said. "I told the umpires the boys had some concerns. In the first three or four overs we had two big slips, Chadwick and one other, and that was a worry.

"For that to happen it could be a career-threatening injury. We always wanted to play but safety is a major concern and it was always in the back of our minds.

"We kind of gave it an ultimatum...we got the outfield roped and we were in agreement that if it continued to be unsafe or if anything dramatic or drastic happened we'd call it quits."

The T20I was Brathwaite's one appearance of the tour as he is not part of the one-day squad which will begin the five-match series at Old Trafford on Tuesday.