One dead and dozens hurt after 50mph winds topple part of festival stage

One person has been killed and dozens others injured after heavy winds caused part of the stage at a Spanish music festival to collapse.

The ‘extraordinary’ weather conditions also destroyed other infrastructure at the Medusa Festival, which is held over six days in the east coast town of Cullera, south of Valencia.

Organisers of the festival, which French DJ David Guetta was due to headline today, said in a statement posted to Facebook: ‘We are completely devastated and saddened at what happened this morning.’

It went on: ‘At around four in the morning unexpected and violent strong winds destroyed certain areas of the festival, forcing management to make the immediate decision to vacate the concert area to guarantee the safety of attendees, workers and artists.’

They said the event would be suspended for the time being.

The man who died has been described as a 28-year-old.

Of the injured, three suffered serious trauma injuries and 14 had more minor injuries, regional emergency services tweeted. Regional health authorities said later that 40 people were attended to.

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

Jesus Carretero, who attended the festival with his brother, told TVE: ‘We are in a state of shock because we were 30 metres away (from the stage).

‘It could have been me, it could have been anyone.

Another concert-goer told a local paper: ‘We were in the middle of the dance floor and it began to rain a bit but at the same time the heat was horrible and suddenly there was a lot of wind.

‘We saw a couple go running by and I heard people shouting billboards had fallen and people were bleeding.

‘Suddenly two police cars appeared and the officers got out and told us to get away from the stage and anything metal.’

National weather agency AEMET said there had been ‘strong gusts of wind and a sudden rise in temperatures’ during the night, with gusts of 51 mph recorded at Alicante airport.

Footage of the drama showed revellers trying to take refuge as a sandstorm engulfed the concert area as well as police attending to one of the victims lying on the ground.

One local took to Twitter to rage: ‘Medusa Festival…aren’t you ashamed there are people hurt because you didn’t know how to tie things to the f##king ground property.’

So far, there is no suggestion what happened was in any way the fault of festival organisers.

In a second statement, they said: ‘We are completely overcome and devastated at what happened in the early hours of this morning.

‘The Medusa Festival organisers wish to express our profound and sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of those affected by the fatal outcome of last night’s event.

‘A few hours ago the town of Cullera and other surrounding areas suffered unexpected and exceptional weather conditions that caused damage to several parts of the concert enclosure.

‘Around 4am a surprise and violent gale affected certain areas of the festival forcing organisers to take the immediate decision to evacuate the area to guarantee the safety of spectators, workers and artists gathered for the Medusa Festival.

‘Unfortunately the devastating weather conditions led to some structures collapsing and causing the unexpected events.

‘All our support and affection to those affected at these difficult and sad moments in time.

‘Our thoughts are with them at all times and we promise to do whatever we can for them as required.’

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