Hundreds of people injured at Spain music festival

A pier collapsed during an urban music festival causing about 300 people to be  injured and five seriously injured. The promenade collapse happened as Mallorcan rap artist Rels B was performing as part of the two-day O Marisquino festival in Vigo, a city of around 300,000 people.

The seafront platform, which was 30 metres long by 10 metres wide, was packed with people watching a rap artist in the northwestern city of Vigo when it suddenly collapsed just before midnight on Sunday, one of the witnesses, Vigo mayor Abel Caballero told reporters at the scene.

“The causes have yet to be determined. Everything indicates that no one is trapped underneath,” he added.

According to a Spanish local radio, “These are provisional figures, patients are still being evaluated. At the moment 266 patients have been treated, the vast majority are light injuries for bruises. There are five hospitalisations, mainly broken bones and some head injuries.”

It also said the pier collapsed moments after rapper Rels B had told revellers to jump at the beginning of his set. There were scenes of panic as people tumbled into the sea and fell on top of each other in a domino-like effect.

The mayor of the city, Abel Caballero, has said there will be an investigation into the causes of the incident. It is not yet clear whether the platform collapsed because there were too many people on it, or because the structure itself was weak, or whether other factors were involved.