Emergency services in London said close to 90 people had been injured Thursday night when a section of the ceiling at the Apollo Theatre in London collapsed during packed performance. The mishap brought to a standstill the entertainment district in the West End.
Audience members were showered with debris including pieces of masonry. The theater was filled with many families that were enjoying a popular family play.
In all, rescuers and emergency personnel said 88 people had been injured. They said 81 were walking wounded, many suffering injuries to the head, while there were seven others taken to local hospital with injuries that were more serious.
The local fire department said it was still too early to make a speculation on what caused the large section of ceiling to collapse. Police said they had no suggestion it could have been deliberate or an attack.
No indication was given it could have been caused by heavy storms in the area earlier that evening, but investigators worked through the evening attempting to find clues to why it happened.
The ceiling suddenly collapsed during the performance showering audience members and creating panic amongst those attending when everyone realized it was not part of the performance.
People started screaming and trying to flee as the theater filled with dust from the broken masonry.
Shaftesbury Avenue was blocked by emergency vehicles creating a traffic jam in the heart of the theater district in London, which has been packed by revelers on one of the year’s busiest nights in the run up week to Christmas.
A manager at a McDonald’s near the theater said that theater patrons started to run inside the restaurant, covered in dust.
He also said some paramedics brought people inside the restaurant covered in blankets with some arriving by stretcher.
Those injured and who needed attention were transported to a nearby hospital while others were helped to Gielgud Theatre while they waited for a bus or were able to walk to their cars.
On fireman said in his time of working with the department, he had not seen an incident similar
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