Suburban Chicago tent collapse injures at least 26, including 5 seriously, police say

BEDFORD PARK, Ill. — A tent collapse in suburban Chicago injured at least 26 people, police said.

Five of those hurt had serious injuries, Bedford Park Police Chief Tom Hansen said.

The tent collapsed around 10:45 a.m. in the parking lot of a business, Hansen told local news outlets.

The tent was being used for an event being hosted in the parking lot, he said.

“The Bedford Park Fire Department, along with multiple Fire Department agencies from surrounding jurisdictions, transported twenty-six patients to area hospitals for treatment,” police said in a news release.

Police said the cause of the collapse was under investigation.

Photos from the scene showed the large tent partially collapsed and partially still standing next to many tables set up with chairs.

The parking lot was outside a Cintas Uniform Services store in Bedford Park, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. A message seeking comment was left for a Cintas spokesperson.