Initial theatre checks completed
Baku, December 21 (AZERTAC). Initial safety checks at a West End theatre where a ceiling collapsed striking members of the audience have concluded and the venue has been handed back to its owner. Investigations are ongoing into why around 10 square metres of plaster from the Apollo Theatre plummeted on to the stalls below, leaving 80 wounded.
The company which runs the the Grade II-listed building in Shaftesbury Avenue said that it is continuing to assist the authorities as they try to ascertain the cause of the incident.
A spokeswoman for Nimax Theatres said: "The relevant authorities handed the theatre back to Nimax at 4.30pm today which meant we could commence the process of carefully recovering and logging all personal effects left in the theatre following its evacuation and subsequently return them to their owners."
Westminster City Council said: "T he building is safe for our investigators to go in but we cannot confirm if it is safe to open until our investigations are concluded."
More than 700 people were inside the Apollo - which was 45 minutes into the National Theatre's performance of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time - when members of the audience started screaming as it appeared parts of the ceiling caved in.
Some of the injured were taken to hospital on board London buses as the emergency services dealt with the incident in the heart of the capital.
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