People ran for their lives screaming in terror as a stage collapsed at a gig in the US state of Indiana. Country duo Sugarland were just about to take the stage at the Indiana State Fair when a storm blew in, leading to the stage rigging and canopy collapsing on the terrified crowd. At this stage five people have been confirmed dead, with more than 40 seriously injured – one 17 year old boy has a broken back and may never walk again.
According to David Lindquist, music reporter for the Indiana Star who was in the fifth row of the Grandstand as the disaster unfolded; “The entire stage rigging collapsed. This is bad. This is very bad.”Lindquist says the storm rolled in incredibly fast, as support act Sara Bareilles had finished her set 30 minutes earlier by commenting what a beautiful night it was. “The gust of wind came, there was no rain yet and the production fell from left to right,” Lindquist said. “And you could see, you could clearly see people were under the footprint of the rigging.”
Emergency crews and shaken but uninjured fans then converged on the collapsed stage and began working to free those who were trapped, with officials announcing the cancellation of the Sunday events, with a memorial service for the victims expected to be held at the Fair on Monday. The Indiana State Fair, which dates back to 1852, can now expect questions to be asked as to whether the gig should have been cancelled as the storm approached and/or whether the event organisers were properly monitoring the situation.
Check out footage of the collapse here:
