When a performance was taking place at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, on Friday night in the midst of bad weather, the roof and marquee collapsed.
Officials have verified that there was one fatality in the collapse. 28 more people were hurt.
Shawn Schadle, the fire chief for Belvidere, Illinois, said that five victims were airlifted from the site with serious injuries, 18 with moderate injuries, and five more with minor ones.
Others probably arrived at the hospital on their own.
90 mph gusts from heavy storms were said to have caused the collapse.
At 7, the sold-out show started. The venue’s schedule included the death metal bands Morbid Angel, Revocation, and Skeleton Remains.
Just 30 minutes into the show, there was a collapse. The first report was for a mass casualty collapse.
The audience, crew, and bands totaled around 260 individuals inside the theatre for the show, according to Schadle. The theatre can hold around 1,500 people.
The massive bowstring truss roof and the marquee were both shown to have fallen in the scene’s video.
Moreover, bricks were laying in the center of the roadway. On several of the neighboring automobiles, debris fell.
Within the theatre, the ceiling fell directly in front of the proscenium, leaving the area exposed to the outdoors and filled with flashing lightning. At that moment, there was probably a crowd assembled in front of the stage.
The tweet below shows the roof collapse during the concert:
Roof collapses during concert by Morbid Angel at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois.
There are reports of multiple victims#morbidangel #apollotheatre #belvidere #illinois #tornado #storm #weather #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/ptmYoSkm4o
— Crime With Bobby (@crimewithbobby) April 1, 2023
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Apollo Theatre Devastated by Storm: Rescue Efforts and Evacuations
The police chief for Belvidere, Shane Woody, described the situation upon arrival.
Chaos. Complete chaos, he said. In the end, we go in and attempt to identify individuals, rescue as many people as we possibly can, and get them to safety as best we can. “When cops are first on the scene when the fire department and first responders come here, they do the best they can to manage the mayhem as much as they can.”
Illinois state representative David Vella (D-Loves Park) said he was out to dinner with his wife in neighboring Rockford when he learned of the fall and hurried to Belvidere.
The devastation to the Apollo Theatre, one of the area’s historic sites, is truly devastating, according to Vella, who described what transpired as “horrific.”
According to Vella, the unexpected storm severely damaged a tiny region.
We didn’t receive anything, and Rockford is just a 10-minute drive away,” Vella added.
Once the roof and ceiling fell, people were seen jumping in to aid in a social media video taken by witness Mike Winters. Hours after the building collapsed, there were rumors that individuals were still trapped, but according to Vella, everyone had been evacuated by 10 p.m.
20 ambulances were requested, according to a source with the Chicago Fire Department. There were several police and fire units were sent to the location.
No emergency personnel was hurt, according to Schadle.
Several terrified family members were there late on Friday, according to Vella, who estimated that hundreds of individuals attended the music.
Our neighborhood was severely affected by the hurricane, and as a community, we are now experiencing a lot of economic hardship, added Vella. The timing was not ideal for this.
Marissa Perlman of CBS 2 talked with a high school student who arrived on the scene in a hurry to assist. He claimed to have grown up in Belvidere and that he had spoken with a parent whose injured 19-year-old son.
When Jayden Gallagly first arrived, “I did see that they did have folks out on stretches out in front of the Apollo Theatre,” he added. EMTs seemed to be attempting to get entry to an ambulance.
As of 10 p.m., according to Schadle, the MABAS 8 Technical Rescue Team was still there. working on establishing stabilization and secondary searches for 1 hour.
Go to the fire station if you have relatives or friends in the vicinity who are searching for concert attendees.
In Boone County, Belvidere is around 72 miles from Chicago.
The Apollo is at 104 North. State St. in the Belvidere Business District’s northernmost point.
The Apollo Theatre, according to Cinema Treasures, debuted as a theatre for theatrical performances, films, and vaudeville in 1921. During the last several years, the Apollo Theatre AC has served as a live music venue.
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