Hundreds hurt as Spanish festival platform collapses into sea

Five people seriously hurt during incident at O Marisquino festival in Vigo on Sunday

Hundreds of people were hurt, five seriously, when a wooden platform collapsed at a seaside music festival in Vigo, Spain on Sunday. There were no fatalities, but 266 people were injured.

Hundreds of people were hurt, five seriously, when a wooden platform collapsed at a seaside music festival in northwestern Spain on Sunday night, state television RTVE reported.

There were no reports of any fatalities from the incident which authorities said left 313 people injured at the O Marisquino festival in Vigo, a town in the Galicia region.

Many young people were on the port’s wooden boardwalk when it gave way at around midnight on Sunday at the closing event of a three-day festival.

The wooden boards cracked along a central section, about 40 metres long, and people slid down into the sea below, emergency services said. Eyewitnesses reported scenes of panic

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Vigo's mayor Abel Caballero said the platform that collapsed just before midnight was 30 metres long and 10 metres wide.

Vigo port authority, Enrique Cesar Lopez Veiga, said he suspects there was a structural problem in the boardwalk, which is supported by concrete pillars. He told Cadena Ser radio that the boardwalk collapsed “probably because of excessive weight” on it.

Vigo mayor Abel Caballero announced an investigation. The popular annual festival features music and urban sports such as skateboarding.

– AP