INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say they have confirmed at least four deaths after a stage collapsed during a storm at the Indiana State Fair, where country super duo Sugarland was set to perform.
Indiana State Police said the number of people hurt has risen to about 40, with their injuries ranging from minor to serious. The incident happened Saturday night at the fairgrounds in Indianapolis.
Strong winds caused the stage rigging for the outdoor concert to collapse, trapping and injuring concert-goers shortly before 9 p.m.
Witnesses say no one was performing at the time. The opening act had finished, and the crowd was waiting for Sugarland to take the stage.
The collapse came as thousands of concert-goers were being evacuated from the fairground grandstand to a nearby coliseum. The rigging fell onto an area where some fans were seated.
“It was like it was in slow motion,” concert-goer Amy Weathers told the Indianapolis Star. “You couldn’t believe it was actually happening.”
Witnesses told WTHR that some of the injured were in a VIP section in front of the stage known as the “Sugar Pit.” The witnesses said a wall of dirt, dust, rain and wind came up the main thoroughfare of the fairgrounds just before the collapse.
“Panic kicked in when they seen the dust bowl coming in from the Midway,” concert- goer Darryl Cox told WTHR.
Another person at the concert, Emily Davis, told WTHR that there was lightning and the sky had gotten dark but it wasn’t raining when the wind suddenly toppled the rigging.
“It was horrible; people were running and going crazy,” she said.
A representative for Sugarland could not immediately be reached, but the top-selling, Grammy-winning country duo tweeted about the incident on its Twitter page and released a statement on its website.
“We are all right after our stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair tonight,” the website statement said. “Many of our fans and friends in Indianapolis may not be. Please keep them in your thoughts, prayers, or whatever form of strength you are able to send. They need you. Thank you.”
