Regional emergency services said one person was killed and dozens injured when high winds caused part of a stage to collapse at a dance music festival near the Spanish city of Valencia in the early hours of Saturday.
Other infrastructure was also damaged when storms swept through the Medusa Festival, a massive six-day electronic music festival in the town of Colera on the east coast south of Valencia.
Of the wounded, three were seriously injured and 14 were slightly injured, the regional emergency services tweeted. Regional health authorities later said 40 people had been treated.
“We are devastated and completely saddened by what happened this morning,” organizers said in a statement on the festival’s Facebook page.
They said “unusual” weather conditions caused damage to various infrastructure at the festival site.
“At around 4 a.m., unexpected and violent strong winds devastated certain areas of the festival, forcing the management to take an immediate decision to evacuate the concert area to ensure the safety of attendees, workers and performers,” the organizers said.
They said the festival has been suspended for the time being.
The National Broadcasting Corporation (TVE) showed pictures of strong winds blowing over people’s tents in the middle of the night.
“We are in shock because we were 30 meters away (from the stage). Jesus Carretero, who attended the festival with his brother, told ETV.
The national weather agency AEMET said there were “strong winds and a sudden rise in temperatures” during the night, with gusts of 82 km/h (51 mph) recorded at Alicante airport in the Valencia region.
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