Post date: Dec 19, 2013 10:59:57 PM
NVO - Emergency services said 65 people had been injured in a packed London theater on Thursday when part of the ceiling collapsed during a performance, showering the audience with masonry and debris.
The incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT) at the Apollo Theatre, where many families were among the audience for "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time".
The London Ambulance Service said 65 people had been treated, including five taken to hospital with more serious injuries. The London Fire Brigade said all those who were trapped had now been freed.A police spokesman said they are not aware of any fatalities at this early stage of the incident.
Witnesses said the ceiling in the four-story, 775-seat auditorium had simply collapsed during the performance, sending those inside into a panic when they realized it was not part of the play.
A Reuters reporter at the scene said emergency vehicles had blocked off Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of London's theatreland.
Those injured inside the Apollo, which first opened its doors in February 1901, were taken to another theater nearby.
Police said the cause of the collapse was unclear, but there was no suggestion that it was the result of any deliberate act or attack.