Stairwell Collapse At San Diego Indoor Gym Leaves 21 Kids Hurt

SAN DIEGO, CA — At least 21 children and two adults were hurt when a stairwell collapsed late Saturday during a birthday party at an indoor gym in San Diego.

A 10-by-30-foot wooden platform collapsed just before 8 p.m. Saturday at at Vault PK at 1699 Main St. in Barrio Logan, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Jose Ysea said investigators were at the scene of the incident in the morning Sunday and were checking to make sure the training facility had all of its permits in order.

"(The investigation) will take a couple of days," Ysea said.

The collapse occurred when about 50 children ran at the same time to an upper level after they were told pizza was being served, NBC 7 reported. Some of the patients were above the 10-foot by 30-foot platform that was 10 feet above ground and some were below it.

One end of the platform gave way and people fell onto each other, Ysea said on Saturday.

Two women, ages 72 and 46, were among the first to be taken to hospitals. Twenty-one children were also taken to hospitals, Ysea said. Injuries were "very minor to moderate. Nothing severe or critical," he said.

There could be other children injured whose parents took them to hospitals, he said.

"It could have been so much worse," Ysea said.

Witness Zachary Smith told The San Diego Union-Tribune he and his son were attending a birthday party at the gym and were standing on the platform with about 30 others. He said a staircase below collapsed and caused the platform to topple in what he described as a "freak accident."

The gym said on its website it is a member of USA Parkour and its coaches are nationally certified through the World Federation of Parkour and Free-running. The facility has trampolines, bouncy houses and obstacle courses.

A stairway collapse has injured approximately20 kids at Main and Sigsbee.
— SDFD (@SDFD) November 12, 2017

In a Snapchat video taken by a Vault PK worker and obtained by KSWB-TV, firefighters can be seen helping children and shards of wood are strewn across the floor.

A tweet from The Goods San Diego shows the inside of the gym. It wasn't immediately known if the wooden platform seen in the tweet is the same wooden platform that collapsed.

$15 for $30 at Urban Free Running & Parkour
Vault PK in downtown San Diego: https://t.co/pV8X09OiyG pic.twitter.com/IifBDu8tRi
— The Goods San Diego (@TheGoodsSD) October 6, 2017

In traditional parkour, people run, jump, climb and perform acrobatics using urban architecture. It was featured in “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Casino Royale.”

Below is a YouTube video posted by Vault PK that shows kids and teens spinning, flipping, jumping, twirling and all sorts of other activities associated with parkour.

--City News Service contributed to this report; Photo courtesy of Zachary Smith