Over 80 injured as part of a theatre collapses in London

London: Over 80 people have been injured, seven of them seriously, after a part of a roof collapsed on audiences watching a play in London's famous theatre district.

The theatre, called The Apollo, is a real icon on the London theatre scene.

The play titled 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' was running to a houseful audience of over 700 people. About 40 minutes into the play the audience heard a noise.

Dee, an eye-witness, said "Initially, we were sitting there in the first act. We were about three, four seats from the actual stage. And then we were looking at the acting and then the actor turned, turned around and said 'Watch out!' We initially thought it was a part of the play. Then what we felt was debris falling on us, a loud bang, debris falling on us and all of a sudden there was like a coat of dust that came on us."

The building is a grade II listed structure. Eye-witnesses said that emergency services were on the spot within minutes of the incident. The rescue operation lasted a few hours and all theatre goers have now been taken to safety.

Advertisement

Incident Commander Maria Smith, who was one of the first on scene, said: "When I arrived it was dark and extremely dusty and people were lying on the floor of the theatre.

"We very quickly set up a casualty clearing area in the foyer of the theatre and the walking wounded were assessed and treated there for injuries such as cuts and grazes, breathing problems and head injuries."

Advertisement

NDTV spoke to London Fire Brigade, which had the onerous task of evacuating over 700 people from the building safely.

London Fire Brigade's Nick Harding said, "We've got all the people out of the theatre who were there at the time. We believe there were 720 people watching the show we can now confirm the people were removed from the theatre. And are now being taken care of by London ambulance service"

Advertisement

While some inthe audience were lucky to get away and are being called the walking wounded, seven are being treated at a nearby hospital for serious injuries.