Concertgoers in Hong Kong were left stunned when a suspended video screen fell on stage, injuring two dancers at a performance by popular boy band Cantopop Mirror on Thursday night.
Screams erupted at the Coliseum in Hong Kong when the massive screen appeared to come loose from one of the two metal cords that suspended it in mid-air. The edge of the screen landed directly on one dancer before falling on another.
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Performers and staff rushed to the scene to render aid. The sold-out concert was halted and fans were asked to leave the venue.
Staff rushed to the stage to treat the injured dancers while fans were asked to leave the venue. Twitter / jaksahi_
According to local media reports, the dancer who was hit first, Li Qiang (also known as Ah Mo), is in serious condition. As of Friday, he was still in intensive care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. A Hong Kong newspaper reported that the dancer broke the third and fourth vertebrae in his neck and claimed that his limbs were also paralyzed. It remains unclear whether Qiyan will regain mobility in his limbs.
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The second dancer hit by the screen reportedly suffered minor injuries and was released from hospital on Friday.
None of the 12 members of the boy band Mirror were injured in the incident.
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The broken screen that fell from its suspension during a Mirror concert in Hong Kong on Thursday. Twitter / jaksahi_
Several outlets reported that fans were visibly shaken by the incident, with many seen crying and even fainting at the venue.
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The organizer of the MakerVille concert has pledged to investigate the incident. The eight remaining Mirror concerts out of their 12 concerts have been canceled and tickets will be refunded.
Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Secretary Kevin Yeung revealed at a press conference on Friday that faulty suspension cables caused the screen to fall.
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“We take this incident very seriously because the safety of the performance stage is very important,” he said in Cantonese at the press conference.
Yeung also said government personnel would help investigate how the screen fell to ensure safety for future performances at the Hong Kong Coliseum, which is run by the country’s government.
Chris Sun, the Minister for Work and Social Care, also spoke at the press conference, saying the government would take legal action if the investigation was deemed necessary.
“We issued a temporary suspension notice today, requesting that all work under the original suspension devices be stopped,” Sun said in Cantonese.
The horrific incident was just the latest in several safety concerns raised by fans and staff about the concert series.
On Tuesday, one of the members of the band Mirror, Frankie Chan Sui-fai, fell off the stage, prompting more than 13,000 fans to sign a petition calling for improved safety measures.
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Fans have also complained about visibly wobbly platforms and incorrect technical cues that have caused Mirror members and background dancers to trip and fall during previous shows.
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Vice News reported that a dancer fell into a hole and was sent to the hospital during a dress rehearsal on Monday. Several of the tour’s other dancers then uploaded black screens to Instagram to protest the working conditions.
An unnamed member of the production team spoke to Vice News, claiming that there wasn’t enough time to even hold a full dress rehearsal for the show before the concerts began.
“There wasn’t enough time and everything was done in a hurry,” said the crew member. “They may have underestimated the complexity of the implementation and the facilities.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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