A 22-year-old man died. D 40 were injured different attention during the celebration Medusa Festival in Cullera (Valencia) after the fall of several structures and parts of the main stage due to strong gusts of wind.
The deceased was Natural Daimiel (Ciudad Real), sources in the investigation confirmed to Efe. The Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 4 of Sueca (Valencia), acting as a bodyguard, assumed responsibility for the removal of his body and took over the investigation into what had happened.
For its part, the organization of the Festival released a statement on Instagram at dawn saying that after the inclement weather They vacated the premises as a preventive measure.in order to ensure the safety of participants, and it was announced that activity was “temporarily” suspended, although it leaves the camping area open. However, a few hours later, the Medusa Cullera Festival organization announced that permanently cancel this year’s edition given the scale of the tragedy, which they described as “an unfortunate, unexpected and unavoidable accident”.
The festival, which is expected to draw around 320,000 people through Sunday, launched its official electronic music program on Friday. crowd address dance and electronic music festivalwhich was scheduled to take place before early Monday morning, the statement said it was “a very painful, difficult and heartbreaking moment. An extremely sad and discouraging moment for relatives and friends. A moment no one should ever know about.”
The position of the wounded
According to the Ministry of Health, 40 of the wounded have been transferred to hospitals in Gandia, Alzira, La Fe and Clinica, with the last two in the capital Valencia. Most of the wounded have already been discharged. According to preliminary information from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Generalitat, three victims were injured. polytrauma and others 14 received minor bruises.
Among the most serious injuries is a 19-year-old girl who will be operated on at the Hospital de la Ribera (Alzira) and who has a spinal fracture. Two young people 19 and 20 years old. Fracture of the tibia first and possibly pelvic second. In addition, a man was admitted to the Sant Joan d’Alacant hospital, whose condition was not reported.
“Warm gusts” with strong gusts of wind
On the four in the morning, strong gusts of wind caused several structures to fall, including a large sign at the main entrance and parts of the stages, some of which collapsed onto the audience.
According to State Meteorological Agency (Aemet)during the night were the so-called “warm airflow“with very strong gusts of wind and a sudden increase in temperature in some parts of the Valencian Community. This phenomenon has led to the fact that in the case of Alicante-Elche Airport at 3 am 40.5 degrees were reached with 82 km / h wind.
Meduza festival management ‘devastated and alarmed’
In a new statement following an Instagram post at dawn where they announced the temporary suspension of the festival, Medusa Festival of Cullera management members say they feel “completely devastated and disturbed to what happened the previous morning” for what happened, making yourself available to survivors for whatever they need, in addition to expressing their “deep and sincere condolences family and friends affected by the fatal consequences of last night.”
In the same statement, members of the organization send “everyone” your “support and love for those who have suffered in these difficult and sad times.” “Our thoughts are always with them, the management of Medusa Festival we make ourselves available to them when they need it,” they conclude.