The organisers of the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium have announced that they are cancelling the remainder of the festival following the deaths of five people due to a stage collapse during a storm yesterday (Thursday August 18th).
According to reports from BBC News, staging collapsed at The Chateau stage and trees were uprooted when the violent storm hit.
Five people have been confirmed dead and over 70 injured at the 60,000-capacity outdoor event, which takes place near the town of Hasselt in eastern Belgium. Foo Fighters, Eminem and Ting Tings were booked as headliners.
A statement issued by the festival said: “Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims. Words are not enough. We have struggled with the decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011”. Unfortunately, this is the second time that disaster has struck at outdoor events this month, with five people also dying last week when a stage collapsed as a result of high winds at a festival in the US state of Indiana.
Website design and development by