Paris explosion during French Revolution musical rehearsal kills 1, injures 15

PARIS, France – An explosion at Paris' Palais des Sports arena killed one person and injured 15 more, five of them seriously.

The pyrotechnics blast occurred during a rehearsal of "1789, les amants de la Bastille," a musical about the French Revolution.

A technician was reported to have accidentally ignited the pyrotechnics used for the show.

It is believed that he was using a power tool near the fireworks.

The dead man was technical director Marcus Toledano, 41, who is said to have died of a heart attack when the fireworks were set off.

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He was rushed to hospital where he later died.

An explosion caused by the pyrotechnics caused a wall to collapse, injuring some of the cast and crew.

The show has been cancelled because of the blast. The fire took 100 firefighters to put out and a dozen trucks.

Written messages of condolence and flowers were being left at the arena on Saturday.

Culture minister Aurelie Filippetti said that she felt a "great sadness" about the incident.

An investigation has been launched to find out the cause of the tragedy.

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