(MENAFN) During a concert at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, the roof of the theater collapsed on Friday night amidst gusty winds. Video footage showed debris scattered outside the building, with firefighters and ambulances in attendance. Cell phone footage captured the extent of the damage from inside the structure. The Belvidere Fire Department reported that one person died and 28 were injured in the building collapse, with five of those injuries considered severe and 18 moderate.
At the time of the collapse, there were 260 people in the building, according to the fire department. As of late Friday night, no one was unaccounted for. Morbid Angel, Revocation, and Skeletal Remains were among the bands scheduled to perform at the concert. It remains unclear which of the bands were playing when the collapse occurred. Morbid Angel later announced on its Facebook page that the show was canceled "due to a tornado that hit the venue."
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker tweeted that he was closely monitoring the situation, expressing concern for the safety and well-being of all those involved. Belvidere is located approximately 70 miles northwest of Chicago.
The storm system responsible for the gusty winds that led to the theater roof collapse also spawned more confirmed twisters in Iowa and wind-whipped grass fires in Oklahoma. The system threatened a broad swath of the country, which is home to some 85 million people.
In a separate incident, the Little Rock tornado tore through neighborhoods in the western part of the city, causing widespread damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles. The tornado shredded a small shopping center that included a Kroger grocery store before crossing the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities.
MENAFN02042023000045014228ID1105930183
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.