Cebu cinema ceiling collapse injures 9
CEBU CITY - At least nine people were hurt, with five rushed to the hospital after a part of the ceiling at Ayala Centre Cebu Cinema 5 collapsed on Monday evening, according to mall management.
More than 300 people were in the cinema for an event hosted by Dreamscape Networks—an IT company with offices around the world, including Dubai—when water started leaking from the ceiling “like waterfalls”, witnesses said. A huge part of the ceiling then collapsed.
Those hurt were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment of cuts and other injuries.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak told media that the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council will ask the Office of the Building Official to launch an investigation.
In a statement, Dreamscape Networks CEO Mark Evans criticized Ayala Centre Cebu personnel, saying the emergency response was delayed and that no alarm sounded. “Everyone had started to evacuate themselves without assistance or instruction,” he said.
After water started gushing out from the ceiling, the lights went out and parts of the ceiling collapsed.
"People were caught under the collapsing ceiling, and a few managed to crawl upwards to safety along the ground, and towards the top of the cinema (where there was an exit door),” Evans said.
Theo Java, a Dreamscape Networks employee, was at the scene and later posted a video of the incident.
"Twas supposedly a big night for our company as we launch our new brand ad campaign... but this thing happened... so sad ayala took sometime to respond for the emergency [sic],” Java wrote on his Facebook page.
Ayala Centre Cebu, on its Facebook page, said: “We regret what happened and we are currently investigating the cause of the incident.”
