A French court on Wednesday handed suspended prison sentences to four people charged over the collapse of a stage as it was being set up for a 2009 concert by pop superstar Madonna, which killed two workers.
Judges in the southern city of Marseille, where the concert was to take place, convicted the four of involuntary manslaughter and injuries, while acquitting three others ordered to stand trial.
Eight other workers sustained injuries in the accident, which occurred when one of four cranes putting up metal scaffolding for the stage knocked into the structure’s roof.
Charles Criscenzo, 52, of France and Charles Prow, a 23-year-old Briton, were killed at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium, and one of the injured workers committed suicide two years later.
Madonna herself did not appear at the trial, saying she was not involved in the technical details and denying any pressure to build the stage more quickly. She did present her condolences to the victims‘ families.
[Marseille (AFP)/France 24 – original article]
[Picture – Michel Gangne/AFP/France 24]
