One killed and dozens injured as festival stage collapses in high winds in Spain

 

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 have said.

Gusts of wind hit the stage at 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 the hospital, including three with serious injuries, regional health services said.

National weather agency AEMET said strong gusts of wind during the night reached 51mph at Alicante airport in the Valencia region.

"We are completely devastated and saddened at what happened this morning," organizers said in a statement on the festival's Facebook page.

hey said the unexpected and "violent strong winds" destroyed areas of the festival at about 4am and that "extraordinary" weather conditions had caused damage to various infrastructure on the festival site.

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

National broadcaster TVE showed images of strong gusts of wind battering against people's tents in the middle of the night.