A terrifying moment at the Indiana State Fair yesterday: the Sugarland Concert stage collapses, killing five (so far). Here is that terrible moment via You Tube:
Another fan video showing the collapse (fuzzy but you can see it):
The scene moments after:
FOOTNOTE: I have worked many fairs over the years in one of my non-blogging incarnations. There are times when you get a huge gust of wind. In one instance years ago at a fair in Montana a tent was almost blown away. At another, in Texas, high winds approached tornado gusts — whipping onto the fair grounds quickly. But the collapse of a big concert stage is not usual. Expect more stories on this (and lawsuits).
UPDATE: USA Today:
Country music acts and other stars are flooding Twitter with well wishes for families of five people who died when a Sugarland concert stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds last night. Dozens of people were injured.
Sara Bareilles finished her set by commenting what a beautiful night it was, according to a report from The Indianapolis Star, and less than 30 minutes later the stage set was on the ground.
“The gust of wind came, there was no rain yet and the production fell from left to right,” says Star music reporter David Lindquist, who was on the scene. “And you could see, you could clearly see people were under the footprint of the rigging.”
Emergency crews and fans quickly converged on the collapsed stage and worked to free those who were trapped, he said.
Marion County Coroner Frank Lloyd said the four victims died at the fairgrounds and were not transported to the hospital.
Medics and rescue crews throughout Indianapolis converged on the State Fairgrounds. Roads in and around the fairgrounds were blocked to allow ambulances to get in and out of the track area. About 12,000 people were at the concert, Lindquist said. Heavy rain and winds estimated as high as 60 mph were reported from the storm after the collapse.
Late Saturday, Sugarland said via Twitter: “We are all right. We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis. We hope you’ll join us. They need your strength.”
Indiana State Police confirmed a fifth person has died following Saturday night’s stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair.
Governor Mitch Daniels addressed the medial Sunday morning describing what took place Saturday as a “freakish accident.”
“We saw the best qualities of both public and Private Hoosiers,” the governor said, “Individual Hoosiers ran to the trouble, not from the trouble offering their skills.”
Daniels said he was overwhelmed by the compassion Hoosiers showed as they rushed to rescue the injured.
The fair’s executive director, Cindy Hoye, announced the Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the State Fire Marshal’s office are conducting investigations into the accident.
One of the biggest questions about the tragedy surrounds the series of events as fans were warned of the impending severe weather and the process the fair uses to determine when to cancel concerts and evacuate patrons.
A police press conference:
Press Conference: Stage Collapse: wishtv.com
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.