One person killed and dozens injured when festival stage collapses in high winds in Spain | World News

One person has been killed and dozens injured after high winds caused parts of the main stage at a music festival in Spain to collapse, officials said.

Strong winds hit the stage at the Medusa Festival, a six-day dance music event near the Spanish city of Valencia, in the early hours of Saturday, regional emergency services said.

About 40 people needed to be taken to hospital, three of them seriously, regional health services said.

The national weather agency AEMET said gusts during the night reached 51 mph at Alicante airport in the Valencia region.

“We are absolutely devastated and saddened by what happened this morning,” organizers said in a statement on the festival’s Facebook page.

It said unexpected “severe strong winds” destroyed the festival grounds around 4am and “unusual” weather conditions caused damage to various infrastructure. in the festival grounds.

Organizers added that the festival was suspended for the time being and management was forced to leave the concert grounds in the east coast town of Cullera, south of Valencia, for safety reasons. .

National broadcaster TVE showed images of strong winds hitting people’s tents in the middle of the night.