Other infrastructure was also damaged when gusts hit the Medusa Festival, a huge electronic music festival held over six days in the east coast town of Cullera, south of Valencia. Of the injured, three suffered serious injuries and 14 had more minor injuries, regional emergency services said on Twitter. Regional health authorities later said 40 people had been visited. “We are completely devastated and saddened by what happened this morning,” organizers said in a statement on the festival’s Facebook page. They said the “extraordinary” weather conditions had caused damage to various infrastructure at the festival site. Staff members clear the site for the Medusa Festival after a stage collapsed in Cullera, Spain August 13, 2022. REUTERS “At around four in the morning, unexpected and violent strong winds damaged some areas of the festival, forcing management to take the immediate decision to evacuate the concert venue to guarantee the safety of attendees, workers and artists,” organizers said. The festival has been called off for now, they said. National broadcaster TVE showed images of strong gusts of wind battering people’s tents in the middle of the night. People are seen leaving the Medusa music festival after strong winds caused part of a stage to collapse in Cullera, Spain August 13, 2022. REUTERSA Civil Guard car exits the emergency exit at the Medusa Festival site in Cullera, Spain in August 13, 2022. REUTERS “We are in a state of shock because we were 30 meters away (from the scene). It could have been me, it could have been anyone,” Jesus Carretero, who attended the festival with his brother, told TVE. The national weather service AEMET said there were “strong gusts of wind and a sudden rise in temperature” overnight, with gusts of 82 km/h (51 mph) recorded at Alicante airport in the Valencia region.
