More than 200 people were packed inside the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, for an event when its roof collapsed Friday night, leaving one person dead and dozens injured, the city fire chief said.
The collapse occurred as a storm hit Belvidere’s Boone County, with winds in the area reported to be in excess of 50 mph. It is not yet clear whether the storm caused the theater’s roof to cave in.
First responders arrived within minutes of the collapse and began pulling people from the debris, Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said.
Twenty-eight people were taken to hospital by ambulance, he said, adding that five had severe injuries.
Rescue teams performed an initial search of the theater and were carrying out a second search, “looking into the stabilization of the building,” Schadle said.
The venue’s event coordinator estimated that approximately 260 concertgoers, staff and performers were in the theater, the chief said. The night’s headliner, metal band Morbid Angel, announced on Facebook that their show was canceled due to the weather.
One of the other bands set to play, Revocation, said in a Facebook post that “everyone in the bands and crew are safe.” It added, “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this disaster.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a tweet that his office is “closely monitoring” the situation.
Source: www.cnn.com