The company which built a stage that collapsed during an Indiana music festival and killed seven people has been fined $59,000 for workplace safety violations.
The stage was blown over during storms at the Indiana State Fair on August 13 last year. Metal scaffolding fell onto fans and workers, leaving seven dead and dozens injured.
The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration found Mid-America Sound Corp, which built the stage and leased it to the fair, had failed to provide appropriate supervision and develop a risk assessment plan, the LA Times reports.
The Indiana State Fair Commission was also fined $5,900 for failing to carry out adequate safety measures at the concert, while the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees received a $10,600 fine.
State labor commissioner Lori A Torres said the inquiry was intended to improve workplace safety, not assign blame for the collapse.
Mid-America Sound Corp has strongly disputed the findings, saying they told the commission the stage's roof structure should not have been used in high winds but the commission refused to postpone the concert.
"Each year for nearly a decade, we warned the Commission, in writing, that 'the roof or top shall not be used in high winds and or severe inclement weather'," the company said in a statement today.
The company said that on the evening of the collapse one of its employees had warned State Fair leadership that the area should be evacuated if there was lightning or winds in excess of 64km/h.
Video of the stage collapse shows the canvas top of the stage flapping in the winds moments before the steel scaffolding collapses onto the moshpit, which was occupied by fans of the band Sugarland, who were about to take the stage.
Four minutes earlier, authorities had taken to the stage to warn people to take shelter but were ignored by many.
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