Explosion during Paris musical rehearsal injures at least 15
AFP
November 9, 2013, 9:08 am
Paris (AFP) - Around 15 people were injured on Friday, five of them seriously, in an accidental explosion during rehearsals for a Paris musical, just hours before the show was due to start, police sources and an employee said.
The blast occurred near the stage shortly after 6:00 pm, apparently after a pyrotechnic explosion went off for unknown reasons.
The injured were mostly technicians who were setting up for the 8:30 pm showing of "1789, The Lovers of the Bastille" at the Palais des Sports, which was cancelled as a result of the blast.
A wall and part of the ceiling collapsed in the explosion. No audience members had yet arrived.
"The walls shook," an employee at the theatre told AFP, adding that only cast and crew were on site at the time of the blast.
Five of the victims were badly hurt and rushed to hospital, police sources told AFP. Around a dozen others received treatment, though some only to have their ears checked after being exposed to the loud blast.
About 100 firefighters and a dozen fire engines were deployed to the scene of the accident.
An inquiry has been opened.
France's Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti has contacted one of the show's producers, Albert Cohen, to convey "a message of solidarity ," her spokesman said, while Interior Minister Manuel Valls paid a brief visit to the theatre and spoke with the rescue workers.
Paris theatre's technical chief dies after accidental blast
AFP
November 10, 2013, 3:45 am
Paris (AFP) - A Paris theatre's technical director died of a heart attack overnight after a malfunctioning power tool set off an explosion at the theatre, investigators said Saturday.
Marcus Toledano, 41, died in hospital, police said, adding that his heart had stopped when rescue workers arrived on the scene Friday evening.
An initial investigation determined that a first blast, which occurred near the stage shortly after 6:00 pm, was caused when the disc of a circular power saw broke away and ignited fireworks stored nearby for use in a musical about the French Revolution.
Toledano was among several people who rushed to the scene, and a second explosion ensued, causing a wall to collapse.
Several others were injured, five seriously, police said Friday.
The injured were mostly stage hands who were setting up for the 8:30 pm showing of "1789, the Lovers of the Bastille" at the Palais des Sports in southwest Paris, which was cancelled as a result of the blasts.
Only cast and crew were on site at the time, an employee told AFP.
Producer Albert Cohen said four employees who were hospitalised overnight were "out of danger" and would be discharged later Saturday.
Several others received treatment, though some only to have their hearing checked after being exposed to the loud blasts.
About 100 firefighters and a dozen fire engines were deployed to the scene of the accident.
