Thread: 4 dead after Indiana State Fair stage collapses

4 dead after Indiana State Fair stage collapses

August 13, 2011

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Four people were killed and a dozen injured after a stage collapsed during a storm Saturday night at the Indiana State Fair, where the country group Sugarland was set to perform, the Indianapolis Star and WTHR reported.

Strong winds caused the stage rigging for the outdoor concert to collapse at the fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Fans were trapped and injured in the incident shortly before 9 p.m.

It happened before the band had taken the stage.

Details on the conditions of those injured were not immediately known.

Indiana State Police told The Associated Press they were still working to gather information and did not have anything to release yet.

Emergency crews were called to the scene. Workers were setting up a command center to tend to those who were injured.

The Star reported that thousands of concert-goers were being evacuated to a nearby building because of high winds when the rigging for* the stage fell onto the track where some were seated.

"It was like it was in slow motion," concert-goer Amy Weathers told the newspaper. "You couldn't believe it was actually happening."

Those who were injured were being moved to a tunnel below the stage, the Star reported. A hole was being dug to try to reach those trapped beneath the rigging.

From The Associated Press

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