The Curious Incident of the Collapse of the Apollo Ceiling

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was adapted to the theater from the 2003 mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon, is about a 15-year-old boy's investigation into the death of a neighborhood dog. The production about a boy mathematician with Asperger syndrome is also among the most popular plays currently running in the West End.

That play was being performed when the ceiling of the Apollo Theater fell on the evening of December 19, 2013.

Hundreds of theatergoers who packed into Central London's historic Apollo Theater were expecting to watch a comedic canid mystery.

But about 40 minutes into the play, around 8:15 p.m. local time, the audience became part of their own melodrama instead.

"One of the actors said, 'Watch out!'" said one woman. "We thought it was part of the play."

The London Fire Brigade's Kingsland Station Manager Nick Harding said about 720 people were inside when a section of the ceiling collapsed on the theatergoers, taking parts of the balconies with it.

An ambulance official said a total of 76 people had been injured, though many of them were treated at the scene and released. No one was killed.

100 Involved in Miami Sports Bar Deck Collapse

On June 13, 20013, the collapse of an outdoor deck at a Miami area sports bar dumped dozens of people watching Game 4 of the NBA finals into Biscayne Bay, Florida. Reports are that 33 of them were injured, two of them seriously.

"It was shock," said Martin Torres, 42. "People were yelling. Nobody knew. People came out all wet. They were crying. For a while, nobody knows what was going on."

Many people seemed in shock, with cuts and gashes on their faces. Eric Williams, also 42, of Atlanta described the scene as "pandemonium," with people scrambling to get out.

About 100 people were on the deck behind Shuckers Bar and Grill when it collapsed about 9:45 p.m., said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Lieutenant Arnold Piedrahita.
"Fortunately only 33 people were injured, 24 of those people were transported to local hospitals and only two were in serious condition," Piedrahita said.
...
Shuckers, which has an outdoor patio deck, is attached to a hotel on a busy, four-lane causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach.
Fans had packed into the bar to cheer on the Miami Heat against NBA rivals the San Antonio Spurs, when the decking gave way just before half time and crashed into the bay, patrons told local television news.
"We heard a crunch, crunch, crunch, and then we saw the pillars went down one by one," said Anthony Herrera, a witness at the bar, told local WPLG television station.
"Everything went lower and lower ... it was panic," said Cesar Cabana, one of the bar patrons who ended up in the water. Source.

Reports that certain celebrities were at the bar and part of the accident are unconfirmed.

Collapsed Philadelphia Building Next to Mütter Museum

Newsflash!

The building collapse occurred immediatley next to the world-famous Mütter Museum at 19 South 22nd Street. The Mütter Museum in Rittenhouse (ritten, Germanic origin, ride + hausen, house) Square neighborhood offers a vast collection of medical and anatomical oddities. The medical museum located in the Center City area of Philadelphia contains a collection of medical oddities, anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment.

Above, on the right, is the Mütter Museum. To the left, in white, is the building that collapsed.

America's finest museum of medical history, the Mütter displays its beautifully preserved collections of anatomical specimens, models, and medical instruments in a 19th century "cabinet museum" setting. The goal of the Museum is to help the public understand the mysteries and beauty of the human body while appreciating the history of diagnosis and treatment of disease.
The Collection began as a donation from Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter, who was determined to improve and reform medical education. The donation stipulated that the College had to hire a Curator, maintain and expand the collection, fund annual lectures and erect a brick building to house the collection. Since 1858, the College has held true to its promise to Dr. Mütter. Today the museum enjoys steadily rising international popularity. Mutter Museum website. 

The building and area, before the collapse. The Mütter is immediately down 22nd Street.

Posted, as it was happening...

Emergency crews are at the scene of a building collapse in Philadelphia, and the fire commissioner says as many as eight to 10 people are believed to be trapped in the rubble.

The accident happened at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, June 5, 2013.

A building on the block had been under construction.

The collapse happened at a building at 22nd and Market Street in Center City. The building was reportedly being demolished at the time of the collapse.

Debris came through the roof of a Salvation Army thrift store on the corner.

+++

Later...

Thirteen people were rescued from the building by firefighters.

One man and five women are dead after a building collapsed in downtown Philadelphia.

The collapse at 2140 Market Street happened around 10:40 a.m. when a four-story building came down on top of a two-story building, which housed a Salvation Army Thrift Store. Early reports from Philadelphia Police indicate that the collapse may have been the result of an industrial accident, as construction crews were working on the nearby structure.
***
Mayor Nutter said the woman who died was 35 years old and that her family didn't want any more information about her to be discussed publicly. Sources close to the investigation say the woman was a cashier at the thrift store and that Wednesday was her first day on the job. Source.

+++

According to the demolition permit from Philadelphia's Licenses and Inspections, that building was a four-story structure. The demolition contractor is Griffin-Campbell Construction.

H/T to anon for Mütter link.

Skagit River Bridge Collapses

The Curse Continues ©Charles Berlin 2007 = Yes, that's Loren Coleman in the vehicle.

Memories of the collapse of bridges of bygone days - the Silver Bridge (at Rt. 35) at Point Pleasant, WVA and the I-35 W Bridge in Minneapolis - come to mind when a new bridge falls. Popular culture has associated Mothman sightings with such collapses. The falling of tonight's bridge on I-5 out West is not linked to any reports of winged creatures being seen in the area.

 The I-35W Bridge collapse, 2007.

The Rt. 35 Silver Bridge collapse, 1967.

Historically, Washington State had some rather significant weird flying men sighting in 1948. In that year, there were two unusual sightings in Washington State (hundreds of miles south of Mt. Vernon, please note). 

On January 6, 1948, on a farm just outside the small town of Chehalis, 61-year-old Bernice Zaikowski saw a man flying with some sort of wings strapped to his back. Only a few months after Zaikowski’s sighting, on April 9, 1948, three flying men were seen above Longview, Washington state. Viola Johnson, a laundry worker, and the eyewitnesses told reporters she had seen what looked like “three men in flying suits flying through the air. They wore dark drab flying suits...circling the city."

The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River at Mount Vernon, Washington State did collapse Thursday evening, May 23, 2013, dumping vehicles and people into the water shortly after 7 p.m.

One individual was pulled from the water, one was seen on the top of a car, and an unknown number of people were missing in the water.

State Patrol Trooper Mark Francis said it was not clear how many were in the water or the extent the injuries. Photos showed one man sitting on the top of his red car waiting to be rescued.

Rita Miller, who works at the Riverbend RV Park, said a Navy rescue team was on the site with a helicopter with dozens of first responders. A crowd of about 1,000 people gathered at the bridge. A hovercraft was near the fifth bridge span to the north and was fighting the strong Skagit River current on the west side of the bridge during the rescue effort.

It was not clear what caused the collapse.

The four-lane north and southbound bridge, built in 1955, was used by 70,000 vehicles daily, according to 2010 statistics.

Skagit is named after the Salishan tribal group that use to live in the area. Skagit tribal elders today define the name Skagit as “a place of refuge” or “a place to hide ourselves.”