Paris explosion during French Revolution musical rehearsal kills 1, injures 15
A woman writes down a message on the poster of the musical ‘1789, The Lovers of Bastille’, on November 9, 2013 in Paris, one day after the blast at the Palace of Sports at the Porte de Versailles. One of around 15 people hurt in an accidental explosion during rehearsals for a Paris musical died overnight of a heart attack, police said today
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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