Rock Band’s Show Stage Collapses Killing 1

The rock band, Radiohead, had to cancel there concert yesterday afternoon after their stage collapsed before a show on Saturday afternoon. The final preparations were being done to the stage when it collapsed killing one of the band’s stage hands. Read more below.

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The grassy venue inside Toronto’s Downsview Park was a flurry of activity late Saturday afternoon. As staff went about their final preparations, a crush of Radiohead fans waited to flood the gates for the sold-out evening concert.

Inside the beer tent, Oana Damian, 23, and a handful of other workers had just sat down for a meeting with their employer at about 4 p.m. when she heard a loud, “fireworks”-like crackling sound coming from the stage area.

Her back to the stage, Damian twisted around and watched in horror as the stage’s back scaffolding began to twist and snap, the white billowing canopy collapsing onto the stage where a work crew was preparing for the concert.

Standing nearby, Irene Constantin, another beer tent worker, said the mangled metal and scaffolding “looked like toothpicks.”

“Everything went quiet for a few seconds and then people started jumping over the tables, running towards the stage,” said Damian, recalling the dozens of workers who ran to help.

Minutes later, one stage worker was dead and three others injured. The concert, which was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., was cancelled immediately.

It remained unclear Saturday night what caused the stage to collapse, but police said emergency crews were working with the Ministry of Labour to determine what caused the fatal accident.

Toronto police have issued three forensic specialists to investigate the accident. A Ministry of Labour spokesperson confirmed two ministry inspectors and one engineer are assessing the scene.

The International Alliance Theatrical Stage Employees said Saturday the union was not involved in the construction of the stage.

“Regardless of who was involved the stage collapse is a tragic event and we offer our most sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and our thoughts are with those who were injured,” said president Jim Brett.

Fire crews arrived at the scene within minutes of the collapse and began to scour the stage after hearing that a worker was trapped beneath the debris. According to Tony Bellavance, Platoon Chief with North Command, Toronto Fire, crews used Vetter bags — robust, inflatable bags — to prop up the debris and pull the man from the wreckage.

The man, in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene, killed by a “heavy, crushing injury.” Police would not release the man’s name until contacting his next of kin.

Another man, 45, was taken to Sunnybrook hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Paramedics treated two other male victims for minor injuries at the scene and they were later released.

Roughly 40,000 fans were expected to attend the concert, Radiohead’s first in Toronto since a 2008 appearance at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Billed as the premier event of the week-long North By Northeast music festival, the concert was the final date of an 11-show North American tour that started in late May.

The band played at Montreal’s Bell Centre Friday night.

News of the cancellation left fans, some of whom had flown in from across the continent, with mixed emotions. Drew Walley, of Minneapolis, arrived in Toronto on Thursday.

“Obviously I’m disappointed because it happened,” the 38-year-old said of the cancellation. “But my own disappointment is overshadowed by the one person who lost his life.”

Almost immediately after the concert was cancelled, ticket company Live Nation promised full refunds. Concert tickets sold for $81 on Ticketmaster and were available Saturday for as much as $125.

Natalie Racz, 22, had just arrived at Downsview Park when emergency crews pulled in. Racz has the Radiohead bear logo tattooed on her arm and was disappointed to hear that the show was cancelled.

“Someone’s dead so it’s a bigger tragedy than missing a concert,” said Racz, adding that she saw at least 2,000 people quietly evacuate the park, escorted by security.

Rumours swirled in the aftermath of the incident that Radiohead would join The Flaming Lips at a free concert at Yonge and Dundas Square Saturday night.

Though it didn’t happen, The Flaming Lips’ played Radiohead’s “Knives Out” after issuing their condolences for the dead and injured.

“This unthinkable thing that happened today, we can’t all help but be affected by it,” said Wayne Coyne, The Flaming Lips’ lead singer. “Peace be with their hearts tonight.”

Downsview Park, a roughly 600-acre expanse in north Toronto, has played host to several high-profile concerts and events in recent years. Pope John Paul II spoke at the site in 1984 and 2002. The site hosts Edgefest, a massive music festival, on July 14.

Saturday’s collapse follows a series of stage accidents at Canadian concerts in the last five years.

A stage fell during a Cheap Trick concert at Ottawa’s Bluesfest last year, injuring three. In 2009, the Big Valley Jamboree main stage, in Camrose, Alta., collapsed, killing one and injuring 15.

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