Collapsing art injures five at the Hyatt as the Canberra Times attacks

By johnboy 11 March 2012 32

art show

The ACT Ambulance Service is currently on scene at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra, on Commonwealth Avenue, where an art display has collapsed.

Five people were injured in the collapse and were treated on scene by ACT Ambulance Service Intensive Care Paramedics. Four patients are currently being transferred to The Canberra Hospital for further assessment.

12:14pm Sunday 14 March 2012

[Courtesy ESA]

UPDATE 11/03/12 13:22: The Canberra Times is now reporting that they are in fact responsible for the injuries.

Four people have been taken to hospital after temporary walls displaying art works collapsed at the Hyatt Hotel, Canberra, earlier today.

ACT paramedics treated seven people at the scene of The Canberra Times Art Show.
It is believed someone leaned on the temporary wall, knocking it over and triggering a domino effect.

One person has a suspected fractured arm, while two others will be assessed at hospital for possible neck injuries.

How long will the scourge of newspapers be allowed to wreak such carnage on our fair city?

UPDATE 11/03/12 22:45 Dacquiri has sent in pictures and video of the aftermath taken with an ancient Nokia:

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Collapsing art injures five at the Hyatt as the Canberra Times attacks

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BelcoMan 5:02 pm 15 Mar 12

Interestingly I have watched the videos and can see no sign of the required bracing for this sort of display. It is not the same company that does the Canberra Show.

Ownership of this problem is 2 part;

1. To the Event manager for not correctly supervising the installation methods to ensure that it would be safe for the application.
2. The company installing these 1m charcoal “Corinthian” panels for not ensuring the same.

Really sorry to hear people got hurt. It is a reasonbable expectation that you will be safe here.

trevar 7:47 am 13 Mar 12

I hope the injured make a full recovery, and would laugh a whole lot more if no one was injured, but, short of any permanent injury to a victim, the biggest tragedy here is that no one caught it on video! I keep laughing at the imaginary video of the event in my head, then telling myself off because people were injured and that’s not funny!

Dacquiri 11:00 pm 12 Mar 12

Canberra Times have now updated their story and are reporting 7 injured. (This doesn’t include my son, and perhaps others, who decided that they didn’t need medical treatment for their injuries.) It’s interesting that the call for ambulances was allegedly made at about 11.45am, given that the collapse actually occured at 11.19am (our mobile phone photos & videos were taken within a minute or two of the collapse, at 11.20am & 11.21am).

PantsMan 4:54 pm 12 Mar 12

chris820 said :

The aftermath looks quite postmodernistic.

Maybe it’s performance art?

chris820 1:08 pm 12 Mar 12

The aftermath looks quite postmodernistic.

Gungahlin Al 12:49 pm 12 Mar 12

The Canberra Times’ own article on the incident quotes General Manager of the Canberra Times Ken Nichols as saying his thoughts were with those who had been injured but the quote used is:

”What has happened is unfortunate and disappointing, and we regret the inconvenience and disruption to visitors, artists and the charity the event was supporting.”

So that’s his take-home message from this??

dungfungus 11:17 am 12 Mar 12

firebrand said :

the CT can look forward to a whole lot of lawsuits to be thrown in their direction

I recommend Saul Goodman & Associates http://www.bettercallsaul.com/

poetix 10:47 pm 11 Mar 12

Jethro said :

poetix said :

They were framed.

You need to get out more.

I would but I hear that it can give you an art attack…

Jethro 10:13 pm 11 Mar 12

poetix said :

They were framed.

You need to get out more.

Brucer 8:24 pm 11 Mar 12

TheDancingDjinn said :

[
Obviously not enough – as a person who has worked with the elderly, and cared for many elderly family – the couches outside the room? seriously? old people find it difficult to stand in one spot for long periods, they get tired, how would they have walked out to your couches? were the couches taken up by wine drinkers who had too much “art” and had to rest themselves? (Personally i would have told them to move had i seen a elderly person needing a seat). Did staff realise there were many elderly going there? was it a day trip from a local nursing home?, or retirement village? if people knew the elderly were going to be there then yes they should have put more chairs.
But as it were, the walls fell down, maybe because whoever was in charge of their installation didn’t do their job properly.

This was an annual festival event open to the general public, not targeted to the elderly. Obviously there were some elderly present and as such would be more traumatised by the accident as reflected in the reporting, but to suggest that it all could have been avoided merely by putting some chairs in the room.. you’re kidding aren’t you?
It’s pretty clear the fault lies with the installer of the display partitions. Be it a marquee or whatever, when you hire this stuff you expect the team that arrive to assemble it know what they’re doing. You certainly don’t expect it to fall down, injure your patrons, destroy your event and make the evening news! I’d be surprised if CT do the art show again, which would be a real shame as I’ve always enjoyed it.