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Breaking News

Oscar Preparation Falters as Scaffolding Collapses, Injuring Four

Aired March 22, 2001 - 5:51 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. CNN also wants to bring the latest information from the Los Angeles area. We're now confirming reports of a scaffolding problem at the building where the Oscars, the Academy Awards ceremony, are to be held on Sunday evening. There is apparently a scaffolding collapse outside of this building.

These pictures coming to us from KCAL-TV in southern California, as they look at the scene outside the Shrine Auditorium out there in Los Angeles where the Academy Award ceremony is to be held on Sunday evening.

Associated Press reports to CNN that two people have been transported with some injury, although it is not clear to us the extent of those injuries at this point.

Let's see if we can see in the pictures from KCAL. These are coming in by helicopter, and you see there rather an elaborate scaffolding. Of course, there is quite an elaborate setup for the Academy Awards, as press comes from all over the world to attend and to watch the stars come up the red carpet there as they go to the Shrine Auditorium, as they prepare for this enormous ceremony -- probably the biggest night of the year for Hollywood.

There is media assembled from all over the world in Los Angeles now, getting ready for this weekend's big event. And as you see, quite an elaborate structure, this scaffolding, and it looks like it was behind press risers, outside of the Academy Awards ceremony building. It looks like there are a number of risers out there.

We know that there are, of course, spectators and press who arrive to watch the stars walk in. And we are looking at the pictures as they are just coming in to us. We're seeing a little bit of emergency traffic there. A -- some sort of wheelchair being brought in, sort of a stretcher wheelchair device being brought in as we're watching these pictures with you. They're coming to us live from KCAL-TV, southern California.

Again, the reports that we are getting from the Associated Press that two people have been injured in the course of this scaffolding collapse. The building, of course, is -- now we are told that it is four injuries being reported, and one of those injuries is said to be a critical injury, of a person involved, apparently, at the facility where the scaffolding was set up in preparation for the Oscar Ceremony on Sunday night.

Again, we're just trying to put this all together here. And we're getting this very late information coming to us here at CNN. This is the building, this is right outside the building where the Academy Award's event is to be held on Sunday evening. Quite a large setup of risers and other structures as well, for the lighting and other equipment, television cameras -- the world press that would be on hand for the Academy Award's ceremony.

We are seeing emergency workers there speaking with someone. This does not appear to be a very seriously injured person, but they're looking and talking with that individual, apparently about what they're seeing there. A large structure, we're not seeing in this picture right now, but it is a large structure -- the scaffolding -- that appears to have tumbled outside the Shrine Auditorium.

Four people injured, we are told now, one of those injuries said to be a critical injury in the scaffolding collapse outside of the Shrine Auditorium. And again, we saw the red carpeting that is displayed outside the Shrine Auditorium. It takes days of preparation to get ready for the Oscar ceremony. And the world media comes in and assembles there. We've seen these scenes before.

Now KCAL is showing us a wider picture. You're seeing on the right side of the screen, about a third of the way across on the right side of your screen, the scaffolding in question apparently. It looks like it just came straight down on the area behind the risers. The risers are where the press will be assembled to take their pictures of the stars as they come up. You see this big scaffolding appears to have tumbled pretty much straight backwards from where the risers are positioned. And this would be outside the Shrine Auditorium, and a long run up in the several yards -- probably a couple hundred yards there, of red carpeting leading up to the front of the Shrine Auditorium there.

Again, the latest reports we are having, that four people were injured. You see a rather large structure, it appears to be metal and fabric. The sort of thing that these things are usually constructed of, usually involves some fencing-type material, as well as wood structure. But I don't see any there. I see only the fencing sort of structure, and the red drape that was probably involved in the of course of setting up for the Oscar media that would be coming in.

Again, just a recap on what we're seeing here. And there's not a lot of information to us so we can't give you very much at this point. But we're looking at pictures from outside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, as we are looking at the scaffolding that was set up outside the Shrine Auditorium building. This is the area where the media and of course the stars would be coming in, the media would have their opportunity to take the pictures. And we are told that the scaffolding in this area behind the risers collapsed this afternoon. Four people have been injured. One of those injuries is said to be critical.

CNN is continuing to follow that story as well as the other big story from southern California at this hour.

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