Hogwarts Castle Set of 'Harry Potter' Destroyed by Fire

Mon, 22 March 2010 01:16:06 ET

Neither star Daniel Radcliffe nor cast members Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were on the set when the incident broke out on Friday, March 19.

Production of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" series is facing a major setback in its schedule after the shooting of its battle scenes went horribly wrong. News of the World reported that fire has burned down the set of Hogwarts Castle at Leavesden film studios, near Watford in Hertfordshire on Friday night, March 19.

"We were shooting the scenes where Hogwarts gets blown up during the battle," an on-set source recalled what happened. "But fire managed to catch hold of the set and it went up in flames. It was completely out of control at one point." It was reported that it took 40 minutes and six fire engines to bring the blaze under control.

The scenes for Battle of Hogwarts actually involved Harry raising an army of students to defend the school from Voldemort's attack. Fortunately, neither star Daniel Radcliffe nor his cast members, including Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, were on set when the mishap occurred. Still, around 100 film crew were present. All escaped without injury.

"The special effects guys involved are devastated," the source added. "There's always a risk when there's shooting involving fire and explosives but this shouldn't happen." The damage is estimated at 100,000 pounds. Warner Bros. has confirmed that the incident indeed took place, but insisted that production was still going ahead as planned.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the seventh and final book of "Harry Potter" series will be made into two movies, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II". "Part I" is due to come out in U.S. and U.K. on November 19, whereas "Part II" is set for July 15, 2011 release.

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