At Least A Dozen Injured After Stage Collapses During Indiana High School Performance

A stage collapsed Thursday night during a high school performance in Westfield, Indiana, sending several people to the hospital.

"At least one" person was initially reported as critically injured when the stage at Westfield High School collapsed, Westfield Police Capt. Charles Hollowell told reporters during a news conference.

A dozen more people also sustained other injuries, Hollowell said. He didn't have additional information about the victims or their condition.

By Friday morning, Hollowell told the AP all the students were "doing really well."

The stage collapsed during a performance of the play "American Pie," witnesses told Fox 59.

Blake Rice, an 18-year-old senior told the AP he stepped off the stage to make room for more students. When it collapsed, he didn't fall through.

"At first, it didn't seem real. It didn't really register with me what happened," Rice said.

Rice said people in the audience immediately ran toward the stage and began pulling debris off students. Auditorium staff pulled people out of the pit, he said.

One of the students who was hurt in the collapse later posted a picture on Instagram, saying she and another student were okay.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Eric Dunn told BuzzFeed News there were about 1,000 people attending the play.

Principal Stacy McGuire tweeted late Thursday that the collapse was under investigation.

The AP also reported:

Westfield Washington Schools Superintendent Mark Keen said the school was gathering records related to the stage for investigators to scrutinize. Keen said it appears that a cover that is placed over the orchestra pit for some productions gave way, causing the collapse.