Bosses at the company behind the construction of Madonna's stage in France have dismissed any speculation of a link between Thursday's Marseilles disaster and the collapse of the pop superstar's set in Los Angeles last November - which they were also hired to build.
Two men died and several others were injured after a crane fell, causing a large section of the stage at Marseilles Stade Velodrome to cave in and crush technicians working below.
French police have launched a manslaughter investigation into the tragedy, and now executives at construction firm E S Group are looking into how the incident could have occurred.
In a statement released to TMZ.com on Friday, bosses claim they are "incredibly saddened" by the accident, and are sending their thoughts to the victims' families.
A rep adds, "Two of our directors have flown out to Marseille to visit the injured and to get a better understanding of what caused the accident. At present, it would not be appropriate to speculate on potential causes of the accident, but we are working closely with the French authorities to investigate what caused this incident. This is normal practice for such an incident and we will provide a further update as soon as it is possible."
And they have been quick to play down any link between this week's incident and the one in L.A. last year, when the stage at Dodger Stadium - where both Madonna and Britney Spears played - fell in similar circumstances.
E S Group officials say, "There is absolutely no technical or other connection between the incident at the Dodgers Stadium in November 2008 and the tragic accident yesterday at the Velodrome in Marseille."
Madonna was due to kick off the first of five shows at the Marseille stadium on Sunday (19Jul09), but that date has now been cancelled.
