RAW VIDEO: Dozens injured after stage collapses at US high school
A stage at a Southern California high school collapsed on Saturday night during a performance, sending 25 students to the hospital with mainly minor injuries, authorities said.
Police, firefighters and medics responded to a call after the wooden stage gave way at Servite High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Anaheim.
Students from nearby Rosary High School, an all-girls sister school, were dancing when the stage buckled. Injuries included broken bones, bruises and scrapes.
Amateur video captured the moment the stage collapsed. Girls can be seen dancing and stumping their feet to the music in front of a packed audience when the mid section of stage falls in.
The footage has been authenticated against known locations and events and is consistent with AP reporting.
At this point, the likely cause looks like too many students and too much weight on the platform stage, local police said on Sunday.
Police said investigators are looking into the school’s stage permit to determine if it included a weight restriction or a limit on the number of people who could be on stage.
About 500 students and parents were in the auditorium at the time of the collapse.
The students were performing in “Red and Gold,” Rosary High’s annual musical theatre challenge since 1971, in which teams prepare for six weeks to put on choral, dance, drama and other performances, according to the school’s website.
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