Yahoo Movies 'Bond 25' explosion: 'No need for formal investigation' concludes Health and Safety Executive
UPDATE: Health and safety chiefs have declared there is no case to answer following an injury on the set of the James Bond movie.
The Health And Safety Executive (HSE) decided earlier this month to "assess" the incident on the new 007 film, after a "controlled explosion" at Pinewood Studios left a worker with minor injuries.
But a spokesman for the regulator told the Press Association that the matter was now closed. "After an initial assessment, we concluded there is no need for a formal investigation and we consider the matter closed," he said.
ORIGINAL STORY: The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) is making initial enquiries into the “controlled explosion” that tore the walls off the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios, during the production of Bond 25 on Tuesday, 4 June.
One crew member also sustained a minor injury in the incident that’s left the iconic soundstage exposed to the elements.
The HSE, an independent body whose mission is “to prevent work-related death, injury and ill health”, tells Yahoo: “HSE is aware of the incident and making initial enquiries.”
These enquiries are likely to see if the incident falls under their jurisdiction. Part of the HSE’s mission is to “hold employers to account for their failures and get answers for victims and make workplaces safer.”
Read more: Bond 25: The most cursed 007 film yet?
Event Horizon, the special effects company responsible for pyrotechnics on Daniel Craig’s four previous Bond films, was unwilling to talk to Yahoo about the “controlled explosion”, offering a simple “no comment”.
A special effects expert we spoke to said: “It sounds like something quite bad has happened and there is some structural damage.”
Pictured below is the aftermath of an explosion which occurred during filming on the Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage. The explosion damaged part of the roof and a number of exterior wall panels. One staff member sustained a minor injury. #BOND25 #JamesBond pic.twitter.com/gKyAmUAmeL
— Bond 25 (Not Official) (@Bond25Film) June 4, 2019
However, Bond expert Mark O’Connell - author of Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan - who visited Pinewood Studios last week, says the production will have taken every precaution to avoid this “unfortunate accident”.
“For good or bad the complexities of mounting big franchise films is ever precarious,” O’Connell tells Yahoo.
“More time and effort is spent on not letting accidents happen than shooting them, but sometimes they do. I was at Pinewood Studios last week and The 007 Stage is surrounded (as it always is) with firetrucks, safety units, medical teams and tight security.
“There are no headlines in the precautions always taken when shooting a Bond film - only the unfortunate accidents.”
According to reports, fire crews were called to the Buckinghamshire film studio yesterday after “a pre-arranged fireball rehearsal went wrong”, leaving some crew members requiring first aid assistance.
EON Productions, the company that makes the Bond films, quickly responded putting out an official statement that explained “damage was caused to the exterior of the 007 Stage. There were no injuries on set, however one crew member outside the stage has sustained a minor injury.”
During the filming of a controlled explosion on the set of Bond 25 today at Pinewood Studios, damage was caused to the exterior of the 007 Stage. There were no injuries on set, however one crew member outside the stage has sustained a minor injury. pic.twitter.com/8O9tOgwMYK
— James Bond (@007) June 4, 2019
Photos of the accident show wall panels on at least two faces of the iconic 007 Stage were blown outwards of the 59,000 sq ft building, littering the floor surrounding area, and leaving the building exposed to the elements.
Speaking to The Sun, an insider is reported to have said: "It was utter chaos. There were three huge explosions and it’s blown part of the Bond stage roof off and some wall panels off the stage. They were supposed to be filming.
Read more: Bond 25 script being ‘endlessly rewritten’
"A fireball was supposed to go through the set. That was the stunt but something has gone horribly wrong. There were three loud explosions, one after another, and a member of the crew was lying on the floor outside the building injured. It went bang, bang, bang. The place is now on total lockdown."
This incident is just the latest setback the 25th James Bond film has endured. Daniel Craig is currently recovering from an ankle injury sustained while shooting in Jamaica. The film has also been beset with delays after losing its first director Danny Boyle in August last year.
It was originally slated for release in October 25, 2019, but that’s now been pushed back to April, 2020. Bond 25 will star Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Ana De Armas and Lashana Lynch.
