Man killed as downtown theatre collapses Toronto — One man was killed and 14 people were injured after a downtown movie theatre collapsed on a neighbouring language school Monday morning. The rear section of the Uptown Theatre, which faces out onto Yonge Street just south of Bloor Street, collapsed just after 10:30 a.m. as demolition workers were working in the building. The debris landed on the Yorkville English Academy, a school that teaches English as a second language. It was located in a building next door to the theatre's rear entrance on Balmuto Street. Emergency crews had spent the day moving rubble by hand and searching the scene with dogs trained to locate survivors. The search ended shortly after 6 p.m., when Fire Chief Bill Stewart announced that there were no more people trapped in the rubble. The man who was killed was identified and his family notified, said Police Chief Julian Fantino. He wouldn't comment on reports that the man died trying to protect a boy. Fourteen people were taken to hospital by ambulance, Stewart said, including three children. A 12-year-old girl who suffered a foot injury was later discharged from the Hospital for Sick Children, while a 10-year-old boy who suffered a broken leg remained hospitalized in serious condition. For most of Monday afternoon, police imposed a "no-fly" zone for news helicopters over the site so that searchers could use sensitive listening equipment. Bloor Street was re-opened for the evening rush hour, but Yonge Street remained closed Monday evening in both directions between Bloor and Charles streets. Subway trains on the Yonge and Bloor lines were not affected. Opened in 1920 as a theatre for live performances and films, the Uptown was divided into five cinemas in 1969. It was a prominent venue for the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2001, the Ontario Human Rights Commission ordered Famous Players to make the rear two screens, known as the Backstage, accessible to patrons in wheelchairs by September 2002. The company was given until September 2003 to make the Uptown screens accessible. Rather than do the renovations, which it said would cost millions of dollars, Famous Players closed the theatres and sold the property for redevelopment. The Uptown's final screenings were held in September.
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