Spain Festival Accident: Hundreds Injured When Platform Collapses During Rapper Rels B Set

More than 300 people were injured following the collapse of a wooden boardwalk in northwestern Spain during a concert, authorities announced on Monday.

The collapse occurred on Sunday night in the city of Vigo, while Majorcan rapper Rels B was performing his first song, the BBC reported.

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A police investigator inspects the seafront platform in Vigo, Spain on August 13, after a section of a wooden promenade suddenly collapsed with people watching a concert on Sunday night. Carmelo Alen/AFP/Getty

Five people were left with serious injuries, but none were life-threatening, according to authorities.

"These are provisional figures, patients are still being evaluated… The vast majority are light injuries for bruises," Jesus Vazquez Almuina, the regional health minister told local radio. "There are five hospitalizations, mainly broken bones, and some head injuries."

Cell phones and bags littered the ground following the incident.

The boardwalk gave way when the performer told the crowd to jump. People fell into the ocean water when 130 feet of the central part of the wooden boards cracked, emergency services said.

"We are in the area of the accident. At the moment, the wounded are being evacuated to hospitals in the city. Firefighters are still working in the area of collapse," Abel Caballero, the mayor of Vigo tweeted following the incident.

#Marisquino18 Estamos en la zona del accidente. En estos momentos se está acabando de evacuar a los heridos a los hospitales de la ciudad. Los bomberos siguen trabajando en la zona del derrumbamiento.

— Abel Caballero (@abelcaballero) August 13, 2018

An investigation will be conducted to see what caused the collapse, Caballero said. However, Enrique Cesar Lopez Veiga, the president of the Vigo port authority believed that the boardwalk, which is held up by three concrete pillars, had a structural issue, CBS News reported.

"The floor went down like an elevator," Aitana Alonso, a witness to the incident told local newspaper, Faro De Vigo. "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 [then] I left. There was a girl with blood on her head."

O Marisquiño is an annual festival that lasts three days and hosts a variety of urban sports competitions along with other cultural events, according to the festival's official website.

An official statement from the organizers said that they "deeply regret the accident."

"O Marisquiño wants to highlight the civility shown by the thousands of people who left the premises in an orderly manner and allowed the work of the rescue and security teams, who did a great job," the statement continued.

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