Nine people died and a presidential candidate was taken to hospital after a stage collapsed under strong winds at a campaign rally in Mexico this Wednesday (22).
Candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez said he was not injured in the incident, which occurred during his campaign event in the city of San Pedro Garza García, in the northeast of the country.
The governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon said at least 54 people were injured and that rescue operations were underway to save some of those trapped under the collapsed stage.
Among the dead was a minor, Governor Samuel García said in a post on X, adding that some of the injured were stable, while others were undergoing surgery.
Videos shared on social media showed the moment a strong gust caused the stage to collapse. Álvarez Máynez and his team can be seen running for cover as the structure, which included a large video screen, falls onto the stage and part of the audience.
BREAKING: Stage collapses during political rally in northeast Mexico. At least 4 dead, many injured pic.twitter.com/9Aik66gdyv
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 23, 2024
Mexico's meteorological service predicted strong winds across the region, warning of gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour starting Wednesday afternoon.
Álvarez Máynez later said he would suspend all campaign activities following the collapse, but that he would remain in the state to monitor the situation and victims.
“We have to be supportive, there is nothing that can repair an accident, damage of this nature, and [as pessoas] They will not be alone in this tragedy and in the consequences that this tragedy will have on their lives”, said Álvarez Máynez.
Speaking to journalists, Álvarez Máynez said that the Civil Defense teams checked the “structure of the scene” before the event, but that the intensity of the wind gusts caught the organizers by surprise.
“The weather conditions were very atypical: the rain didn’t even last five minutes… it wasn’t even a storm, what happened was truly atypical,” he said.
The presidential candidate said an investigation into the incident will be carried out.
Governor García asked the region's population to stay at home, warning of more strong winds, thunderstorms and rain.
Mexico is heading towards its biggest election in history, on June 2, which was marked by an increase in political violence and murders.
So far this year, at least 28 candidates have been attacked, with 16 killed, according to data through April 1 from the research group Data Cívica, a number expected to surpass even the bloodiest election cycles in Mexico's past.
(With information from Michael Rios, Mia Alberti, Fidel Gutierrez and Lucas Lilieholm, from CNN )
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
