Invercargill’s Civic Theatre is currently the centre of an emergency response callout involving all emergency services.
Venues Manager Kate Feaver said that the emergency services were called as a precaution after a number of school children, rehearsing for the ILT Schools’ Singout, started fainting on stage.
“The children were rehearsing on stage, under lights, on elevated platforms when the fainting episodes began. We understand that as many as 12 children were affected.
“An ambulance was called to the scene and ambulance staff are co-ordinating the response. Further emergency services were called as a precaution but there is nothing to indicate that there is anything dangerous in the building that has caused the children to faint.
“The sick children are being taken out of the building first. Then all children will be removed as a precaution and taken back on buses to their schools.
Firefighters are preparing to enter Civic to check that everything is safe.”
Ms Feaver said that in previous years during this type of event children hadfainted before on the stage. As this had happened in the past, the Theatre staff do not heat the stage area with so many children under lights.
The priority of staff and emergency services was to make sure that thechildren were safe and looked after, Ms Feaver said.