BEDFORD PARK, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A number of people were taken to Chicago-area hospitals Thursday morning when a large tent collapsed during an employee appreciation event.
Bedford Park Police Chief Tom Hanson said 26 people were injured- five of them seriously, when a large tent collapsed around 10:45 a.m. It happened in the parking lot of Cintas in the 5600 block of West 73rd Street.
"It looks like it was some sort of a gathering- like an employee picnic type of thing or something like that," Hanson told WBBM.
He also said ambulances from surrounding communities responded to the incident, because there were so many people injured and that village officials are trying to determine what caused the tent to collapse.
FOX 32 reported that many hours later, the scene was "untouched with picnic tables and food stations still set up – as investigators worked to piece together how the accident happened."
It happened in the parking lot of The Cintas Design Collective, which according to its website, is as a 'fashion house dedicated to imagining and creating new uniforms for clients.'
The cause of the tent collapse is currently under investigation; however, the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed to FOX 32 Chicago "the tent was erected in the parking lot by a third party."