A man was killed after high winds caused a partial collapse of the main stage at Spain’s Medusa Festival, Reuters reports.
At least 32 others were injured in the wake of the fatal incident at the electronic dance music festival, which took place on the Playa de Cullera on the Balearic Sea.
National weather agency AEMET said there had been “strong gusts of wind and a sudden rise in temperatures” during the festival, reporting gusts of 51 miles per hour at the nearby Alicante airport.
CNN reports the man killed was 22 years old, citing the Spanish Civil Guard told. Hours after the collapse, Medusa organizers shared a statement on Facebook to address the “devastating” incident.
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“A few hours ago, the town of Cullera and other surrounding areas have been surprised by exceptional weather inclement that caused various damage to the infrastructure of our compound,” reads the statement. “Around 4 in the morning, an unexpected and violent vendaval assaulted certain areas of the festival forcing this direction to make the immediate decision to evacuate the concert area to ensure the safety of attendees, workers and artists gathered at Medusa Festival.”
“Unfortunately,” the statement continues, “the weather phenomenon of devastating features caused some structures to provoke the unexpected events.”
Organizers went on to share another statement announcing the cancellation of the remainder of the festival, which was scheduled to conclude on August 15th. Headliners included Steve Aoki, who had already performed, and David Guetta, who was scheduled to appear on August 13th.
“It has always been an absolute priority for us to the safety of our attendees at our event. Workers and artists as well,” the statement reads. “We believe that everyone who knows us knows that it is important to protect you all at each of our events. Therefore, and because that is still our maximum, the organization of Medusa Festival have taken the decision to cancel our festival permanently. The adverse and unexpected weather conditions that were predicted continue to happen throughout the day force us morally and responsibly to end our 2022 edition.”