See Chilling Video of the Deadly Belgium Concert Stage Collapse
- Posted on August 19, 2011 at 8:55am by
Billy Hallowell
- Print »
- Email »
As we first reported on Thursday night, tragedy has struck in Hasselt, Belgium. Following a fierce thunderstorm that destroyed tents, scaffolding and infrastructure and uprooted trees, the death toll at Pukkelpop, an annual open-air music festival, has risen to five. Billboard has more:
On Thursday (August 18) at approximately 6:30 p.m., the festival and campground in Kiewit, Belgium, near the town of Hasselt roughly 50 miles east of Brussels, was hit with a massive rain and hailstorm that damaged three stages (The Chateau Tent, Boiler Room and Wablieft Tent)…
Russia Today has video of the incident:
The Associated Press has raw video of the aftermath of the accident:
According to Hasselt Mayor Hilde Claes, the violent storm left about 140 people injured, 10 of them seriously. Buses and trains were pressed into service to transfer the 60,000 festival goers home.
Thousands of mud-splattered young people, many of them shoeless, trekked down the avenue leading from the festival venue to train and bus stations in Hasselt. Many had stayed on in the camping ground in the vain hope that the performances would continue on Friday.
Chokri Mahassine, the organizer of the annual festival that was first held in 1985, said he had never seen anything like it. ”I have seen many tropical storms, but this was unprecedented,” he told journalists.
Following the stage collapses and subsequent deaths, he said he canceled the event “out of respect for the victims, their relatives and friends we felt that the concert could not continue.”
The three-day festival’s lineup featured internationally known acts, including Foo Fighters, Eminem and The Offspring. On Friday morning, the organizers of the festival issued a statement, reading:
Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims.
Words are not enough. We have struggled with the decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011.
What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted. We are deeply moved by all the spontaneous support the festival goers and the organisation have received.
“This is the blackest day that any Belgian festival has experienced,” Mahassine said. “I would not wish this on anybody.”
At a joint news conference Friday, Hasselt officials and festival organizers described weather conditions at the event’s opening day as exceptional. They said weather forecasters in the area had not predicted a storm of that intensity.
The Belgian weather service did not provide the speed of the wind, saying only that the storm was “violent.” See more of the footage, here:
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme offered condolences to the families of the victims and said authorities would continue to provide assistance in caring for the injured.
This was the second deadly incident at an outdoor festival in a week. On Saturday, parts of a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, killing five people and injuring dozens, when winds of up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) to 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour) hit the site.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments (16)
Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In
Popular Stories
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 584 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 413 Comments
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 411 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 374 Comments
President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 368 Comments
Faith
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 411 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 413 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 368 Comments
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 151 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 411 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
thegreatcarnac
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 3:48pmTwo stage collapses in a week. One in the states and one in Belgium. Conclusion? God dislikes out door stages. Quit making them.
Report Post »GO-FOR-LIBERTY
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 1:41pmDo people no longer look up at the sky, or listen to weather forcasts any more,or just screm RUN? The almighty dollar seems to rule the day—what’s a little wind when there is fun in the air?
Report Post »branch manager
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 12:25pmStages…Made in China.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 11:46amThat’s it! I’m not going near a temporary stage venue for the rest of my life.
Report Post »SpeaknUp
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 11:10amMaybe outside stage shows aren’t such a good idea. This has happened twice in the same week — granted on opposite sides of the world. Metal and rigging are apparently no match for a fierce wind storm.
Report Post »cntrlfrk
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:39am‘
Soon, Obama will respond with a ban on all outdoor performances until further notice.
/
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:31amCan we blame this on global warming and Al Gore?
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 10:03amNo, but I’m sure the MSM or NPR will come out with a statement close to that.
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 10:16amYeah, but cross out Al Gore and insert GW Bush instead. After all, EVERYTHING is Bush’s fault…..
Report Post »Gary Fishaholic
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:29amYou would think that after the tragedy in Indiana organizer would have taken a lesson and made better preparation’s in case of a similar weather event.
Just saying.
Report Post »My prayers go out the families.
loriann12
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:38amWhat, are all these stages made in China?
Report Post »Cat
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:28amThese structures are temporary.
Although they comply with basic structural design parameters for trussed assemblies, they are venerable to excesses such as sudden wind velocity increase and rapid change wind direction. Further, they are hand assembled.
Even on large construction projects, tower cranes are venerable to collapse, roll over and twisting, or at a minimum, experience computer damage from lightening strikes which render them useless until the computer is replaced or repaired.
Have experienced the collapse of a 10-story tower crane, in tight quarters between two mid-rise buildings, and the roll over of a crawler with 40 foot boom in an 80 mph wind gust event. Have also witnessed the crippling effects of a lightening strike to a 28-story crane and the injury to the operating engineer in the control cage.
Ultimately, gravity is our only enemy.
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:15amDang, my band does quite a few outdoor shows…www.trontheband.com …and I have never had this concern before this summer. Not good.
Report Post »drybackinpi
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:07amChildren are stupid…it comes naturally, too bad their parents aren’t a bit smarter.
Report Post »burr99
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 9:01amThis is the 2nd stage collapse in the last 2 weeks. What is it with summer weather and stages this year?
Report Post »glassaudioguy
Posted on August 19, 2011 at 10:50amThat it is. And since troubles seem to come in threes, I‘m betting we’ll soon see another similar event somewhere else.
Report Post »