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Scores injured. 3 confirmed dead, but, on the ground witnesses say that number is much higher.
I can't find a good link to the video, most of what I'm seeing is on Facebook or TV, but it's absolutely surreal.
EDIT TO ADD: 1-4 dead for sure, reports are conflicting. At least 40 injured. High winds and driving rain and hail caused the collapse of various stages, sound towers and destroyed a great deal of equipment. A band was on stage at the time. 30 Seconds to Mars' Jared Leto tweeted that four stages collapsed and still the rain was coming on, though other reports say that the storm lasted only 10 minutes.
I know a lot of people who go to the Indiana State Fair .
That suggests a horrible lack of safety procedures, as big stages are supposed to be extremely overengineered.
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There's a better video that local Indianapolis news is using from a cell phone, but, I can't find a link to it.
Reports now confirm four dead. The cause was high winds. They say a storm just formed out of nowhere, and wind shear was the cause. Gusts from the leading edge of the storm were higher than 50mph, and it was a localized phenomenon just near the stage.
Totally freak, bizarre accident.
ETA: New reports are coming in that report winds at 60 to 70 mph. One report came in from a gas station seven miles from the fair grounds that clocked in at 70mph.
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I used to live a 5 minute walk from the Fair Grounds, in the neighborhood across the street to the south. (College and Fairfield, for those who know the area) I know a lot of people who go to the Fair, I hope none of them were injured.
This is absolutely terrible.
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Another report I'm reading clocked the wind gusts at 77mph in Plainfield, which is a few miles to the southwest of the Fairgrounds. That would officially classify the winds as hurricane-force, if that number holds up.
Injury reports range anywhere between 43 and 200. Fatality reports between 4 and 10. Dozens of ambulances were reported on scene.
There are differing reports on whether an evacuation was ordered. Most people seem to be saying that a guy came on stage to say that a storm was coming and that if things got bad, they'd need to leave the area, but the collapse happened only minutes after that, with no warning.
Everyone has said that as soon as the stage collapsed, dozens of people rushed toward the stage to try and lift the wreckage off the people trapped below.
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Search and rescue operations are completed. Everyone has been recovered or rescued from the wreckage.
Injuries range from bruises to compound fractures and concussions. Age ranges on the injured from from a seven year old boy to a 60 year old woman.
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You can see in this video that dozens of people rushed toward the fallen stage to try and rescue people trapped beneath it. Pretty impressive that in that sort of situation, that many people surged in to help. Personally I'd be a little leery of moving injured people, as without trained first responders there, it can sometimes cause more harm than good, however, it sounds like there were a lot of medical personnel in the crowd doing some on the spot triage.
According to this CNN article, there have been at least two other stage collapses due to weather just this summer. This is the most horrific, but it's not an isolated incident.
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I live about 2 hours north of Indianapolis. We were hit by an upper portion of this storm. The wind gusts that preceded it were out of this world.
While I think it's a good idea to investigate what happened, it's quite possible that no one is to blame.
My heart goes out to the victims and their families. Posts: 407 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Thought about going to a concert there this year. I'm really glad I didn't. It is a really sad thing though.
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Apparently Sugarland was literally moments away from going on -- they were in a prayer circle, getting ready to step out -- when their stage manager decided they shouldn't because of the weather. They were leaving the back of the stage just as it collapsed. The singer from Sugarland was devastated and very emotional for the next few days. One of the guys flew back to Georgia to be with his family.
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I think I read that they also donated money to the families of those who died, and they were very vocal in their condolences. Considering they were quite literally moments away from death, I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
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Only hours ago, a massive storm hit the Pukkelpop Festival in Hasselt, Belgium, killing several and injuring 40 or more. A Chicago-based band was on one of the four stages that collapsed setting up their equipment when the stages collapsed.
Their comment on the collapse? "I hope Pukkelpop has insurance, cause all our shit is broke." One hopes they hadn't heard about the deaths when they made those comments, though I have to imagine I'd be pissed too.
posted
Well that will be interesting. Is this the first such high profile case to take place since gay marriage was legalized in one state but the lawsuit rests in another?
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Well that will be interesting. Is this the first such high profile case to take place since gay marriage was legalized in one state but the lawsuit rests in another?
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It was only ever going to be a matter of time. And to think we were just talking in the other thread about how long it will take for DOMA to come before the courts. Looks like it might be sooner rather than later, assuming her case isn't tossed out before it becomes an issue.
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