One person has died and 17 have been injured, three of them seriously, after a stage collapsed at a music festival near Valencia, Spain, according to local authorities.
The disaster occurred at the Festa de la Medusa in the town of Cullera near Valencia at 4.18am on Saturday (12.18am Saturday AEST) “due to a strong gust of wind”, they said.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the organizers announced that the festival had been suspended.
“Due to the inclement weather in the early hours of August 13, 2022, and with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of concertgoers, workers and artists gathered at the Medusa Festival, the organization of the festival suspends its activity for the time being ,” the festival management said on Instagram.
“The festival site is cleaned as a preventive measure with the aim of facilitating the work of the Medusa Festiva’s emergency and security services,” he added.
Videos posted on social media early Saturday showed strong winds and structures falling from the stage as large crowds of festival-goers were evacuated.
The Valencia section of the National Meteorological Service (AEMET) said on Twitter that the warm breezes produced very strong gusts of wind and sudden increases in temperature.
Around 3 a.m. local time, the temperature was 40.5 degrees Celsius at Alicante-Elche airport, just south of the concert venue, on the Mediterranean coast, with winds of 82 km/h .
Temperatures have risen across Europe with droughts declared in parts of England and forest fires in France.