Skip to content

Labour ministry inspectors probe deadly stage collapse in Toronto

Inspectors with Ontario’s ministry of labour are spending today combing through the wreckage of a stage that collapsed on Saturday during setup for a Radiohead concert in Toronto.

TORONTO — Inspectors with Ontario’s ministry of labour are spending today combing through the wreckage of a stage that collapsed on Saturday during setup for a Radiohead concert in Toronto.

They’re trying to find out what caused the stage to come crashing down on a handful of workers, killing one and injuring three others.

Police say a British man in his 30s died after he was trapped under falling debris.

Const. Tony Vella says another man who suffered non life-threatening injuries is doing “much better” in hospital.

Ministry spokesman Matt Blajer says the massive structure is “still fairly unstable” and work is underway to make it safe.

He says investigators are looking to see whether safety regulations and standards were followed and staff were properly trained.

He says the investigation is “fairly complex” and it could take some time to figure out exactly what happened.

The sold-out show was cancelled before it even began, forcing ticketholders — many of them from out of town — to turn back.

There’ve been a number of stage collapses in recent years.

Six people died last August when the stage fell at a concert in Indianapolis and five died when a storm toppled a stage at a festival in Belgium.

In Canada, several people were hurt when the stage went down at Bluesfest in Ottawa last July and one person died in 2009 when a windstorm collapsed the stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Alberta.