Hundreds injured when boardwalk collapses into the sea at Spanish festival

Jane Onyanga-Omara USA TODAY

Published 9:59 p.m. UTC Aug 13, 2018

Hundreds of people were injured when a wooden boardwalk collapsed into the sea at a music and urban sports festival in northwestern Spain, authorities said Monday.

Regional health chief Jesus Vazquez Almuina told Antena 3 television that 313 people required medical treatment following the incident in the city of Vigo in the Galicia region at around midnight Sunday.

A 130-foot stretch of the boardwalk gave way during a rap performance — the closing event of the three-day festival — sending concertgoers sliding into the sea.

Five people suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries, officials said.

Enrique Cesar Lopez Veiga, the president of the Vigo port authority, said he suspected the boardwalk, which is supported by concrete pillars, had a structural problem.

He told Cadena Ser radio that it collapsed "probably because of excessive weight" on it.

Aitana Alonso, a concertgoer, told the Faro de Vigo newspaper: "It broke and we all fell. People fell on me. I had trouble getting out. I was trying to get out and skidded, my foot got stuck, in the water. I got it out. A boy gave me his hand and I got out. I felt paralyzed and I left. There was a girl with blood on her head."

Vigo mayor Abel Caballero announced an investigation into the incident. The popular O Marisquiño annual festival draws a large crowd of youths and features music and sports such as skateboarding.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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