One person has been killed and dozens injured after high winds caused parts of the main stage of a music festival in Spain to collapse, authorities said.
Gusts of wind hit the stage at the Medusa Festival, a six-day dance music event near the Spanish city of Valencia, early Saturday, regional emergency services said.
About 40 people had to be taken to hospital, including three with serious injuries, regional health services said.
The National Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has reported that strong gusts of wind during the night have reached 51 mph at Alicante airport, in the Valencian Community.
“We are completely devastated and saddened by what happened this morning,” organizers said in a statement on the festival’s Facebook page.
They said that “unexpected and violent strong winds” destroyed areas of the festival around 4am and that the “extraordinary” weather conditions had caused damage to several infrastructures at the festival site.
The organizers added that the festival is suspended for now and that management was forced to evacuate the concert area in the coastal town of Cullera, south of Valencia, for security reasons.
National broadcaster TVE showed footage of strong gusts of wind battering people’s tents in the middle of the night.