Two Dead, 15 Injured After Tent Collapse at New Hampshire Fairgrounds; State of Emergency Declared

Update, 1:47 a.m. ET — August 4:

LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) — Safety officials in New Hampshire have begun investigating the collapse of a circus tent during a severe storm that killed two spectators and injured at least 22 other people.

Investigators are working through the night looking at how the tent was put up at the Lancaster Fairgrounds, about 90 miles north of the capital of Concord. They also are talking to survivors and witnesses.

A man and a girl died in the collapse Monday evening.

The storm, packing 60 mile-an-hour gusts and hail, blew through just as the first of two scheduled shows was beginning. Fire Marshal William Degnan says about 100 people were inside the tent at the time.

The circus operator, Sarasota, Fla.-based Walker International Events, did not immediately return a call seeking comment late Monday.

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Original story below:

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan declared a state of emergency Monday evening after a tent collapse at a fairground in the town of Lancaster left several injured and at least two dead.

More than 200 people were said to have been in the circus tent when it collapsed during a severe thunderstorm.

Images posted to social media showed multiple emergency vehicles on the scene.

Neither a spokesperson for the Lancaster Police Department or Lancaster Fire Department immediately responded to TheBlaze's request for comment.

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