Stage collapses at Indiana State Fair
 

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/13...air/?hpt=hp_t1


A stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed Saturday. At least a dozen were hurt, according to the Indianapolis Star newspaper.

The country music duo Sugarland, who was slated to appear on stage before it collapsed, tweeted that they were okay Saturday night: "We are all right. We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis. We hope you'll join us. They need your strength."

A witness told CNN that inclement weather played a part in the incident.

"A big gust of wind came through. You could see a lot of people panicking. All the scaffolding and speakers - all that came crashing down - and the whole stand just collapsed," Aaron Richmann said.

Video from CNN affiliate WTHR showed flashing lights and emergency vehicles on the scene.

That's horrible. I watched the video of it collapsing. It absolutely makes you thank a higher power that nothing happened like this at Sturgis.

Here's an article with some more information:

http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...stage-collapse

Dear Outdoor Concert Stage Equipment People:

Is there some way you folks could "wind test" the equipment you're using? We music fans are getting quite fed up with people getting killed and injured by your stuff when it blows over in the wind and falls on them. We would greatly appreciate it. We don't want to have to resort to staying home and watching "webcasts" of our favorite band playing live on a sound stage or something. It wouldn't be as enjoyable for us and you might end up going out of business.

Thank you,

A concerned outdoor concert fan.

Well Said!!! they people are stupid for not using the proper tools!

Something tells me their insurance is soon going to require it.

talking about expensive!

artical
 

heres a artical on it http://news.yahoo.com/authorities-3-...030744842.html

Here's a photo:




This could have been the stage at Sturgis when Stevie was performing. Remember when the camera panned up to show the lighting rig swaying in the nighttime wind?

How awful :distress: It makes you sit back and think, doesn't it. I can only thank the powers that be that the only outdoor concert I've been to was on a scorchingly hot day without any wind.

Wow.I was thinking about Jones Beach with all the strange weather they get on the water.Wind tunnel like winds.Cold and hot like a mother.Plus high tides inside the venue.Thats to bad that happend.I'm glad Sugarland is ok.Pray for the people that did get hurt.

5 people are dead and lots injured ..Sugarland are the least of people's worries...if you're gonna pray do it for the families of those who died and let's hope there isn't news of more deaths from this truly awful and totally preventable stage collapse. Shame on the organizers/promoters who went ahead with it despite the strong winds & warnings.

That video is really frightening. :distress:

Very sad. Those organizers should be fired.

Yea that kind of chit is reprehensible. It's the kind of thing that happens in less industrialized nations, like Peru and Mexico City... not the "richest nation in the world." I don't know how old that stage set up is, but anything newer than 15 years should have been designed and modeled using computer applications that tell you how much of what you need and where to put it for the particular area you're building for. It's what they use to construct buildings, etc., so the same needs to apply to outdoor venues. And if it's like the bridges across the U.S., where they're outdated (or weather patterns have changed) and they're a safety hazard, then for God's sake upgrade/retro fit the mothers. This reeks of cheap, greedy and irresponsible. Ticket prices have gone sky high in recent years, can't they at least afford to give the fans a SAFE place to enjoy the music?! I'm just wondering how many more times this sort of thing is going to happen before something is done about it. How many lives need to be lost, how many injuries. If I were president, I would shut down every single venue, cancel every single show and put a huge team of inspectors on it to make recommendations - the show does NOT go on until everything passes reinspection. :p

{{{steps off of soapbox}}}

Yes I agree .How sad .I just got the news about those 5.


A good way of putting it..They should get shut down and get safety check.Also Every year that goes by .somebody gets k1lled at those theme parks.
The problem is they hire cheap labor and sometime the owners and the organizers slip some bread into the officals pocket and they run off.They just want to collect the infilated ticket money.They dont care about the fans until the lawyers come into the picture.Which they will be here.

My cousin works on that "cheap labor" crew. He's been with the same union, with the same guys, for years. They take their jobs very seriously. They have families to go home to at night. They know the fans do too. When one of their own died in this accident, it hurt them deeply. I talked to my cousin today, and he is in bad shape over losing his friend. This was a huge gust of wind that was well ahead of this storm. I was in the middle of it. The winds were awful. If anything, the organizers should have warned earlier, but they thought they still had a little time before the storm hit. All you can do is pray for the victims and families. We still have some in area hospitals in very critical condition. Pray for the riggers and crew too. I know they feel bad enough about it.

oh I'm sorry.I'll apologize on my statements.and hope for the best of recovery.

Thanks for the news report.As I remember watching Stevie's Sturgis video when the camera showed the rigging swaying in the wind.

It makes me sick everytime I look @ the video & listen to the people talk on TV who were there. I feel for the families of the people who were killed.

Lee :distress:

It makes me sick too... I want to know why, when they started getting those weather warnings, didn't they take those "sails" down? Sure it would have taken almost an hour, but it would have been precautionary and it would have ended up saving lives. And they DID have enough warning AND time! Don't people learn? It's not like this was the first time something like this has happened. In fact, there were four other similar incidents just in the last few months. DANG! I really hate how they're smoothing it over in the press. Do they think we're retarted?! It's time for these people to WAKE UP and be more responsible!!!

PS: If it's such a "hassle" to take the sails down, then they need to be retrofitted in such a way that someone can pull a cord and the seams open up to allow the wind to blow through them so they DON'T become a sail. good lord... now will someone take my idea and put it to good use?!?! For the sake of concert goers (and tour/crew) everywhere!

{{climbs down off soapbox ... again.}}

I just got news another stage collapse.This one was over at the Belgian music festival.

At least three people were killed last night, and 71 injured, when a stage collapsed during stormy weather.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...e-2340377.html

Saw that on the news earlier today... what is this, some kind of outdoor concert Apocalypse?! You couldn't pay me enough to go to an outdoor concert this year... I wouldn't care who's performing - even if it were Elvis, Jimi or Janis. No way, you would NOT find me there!

RIP to those who died. My thoughts and prayers for the survivors and loved ones who remain. :distress:

6th person dies from stage collapse at Indiana State Fair:

(CNN) -- A sixth person has died of injuries suffered when a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, state police said Friday.

Jennifer Haskell, 22, died Friday, said David Bursten, a spokesman for the Indiana State Police.

The accident occurred shortly before the country music duo Sugarland was to take the stage before an audience of about 12,000 Saturday night. At least 40 people were injured.

Metal scaffolding fell onto the "Sugarpit," a section usually occupied by Sugarland's most ardent fans, just minutes after authorities took the stage to warn the crowd to seek shelter, according to a timeline of events released by investigators.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/19/...pse/index.html

Thanks.I just read the bad news.

We just lost a 7th person in the collapse, and according to the news report, there is still at least a dozen in the hospital, and some of them are critical. After this, if the fairgrounds doesn't build a permanent stage, I'll be pissed. They have concerts there all the time, so why in the hell wouldn't they have a permanent stage anyway?!

How sad this is.I think they will now after this.Better off on a flatbed trailer.Who needs lightshows.they are pretty though.I go to see and hear the artist sing.not lightshows.I wonder if they find out what snapped ,when they do . redesign the framework for these stages.Or better yet cancel or delay the concerts when bad weather comes near.

Will this did not take long.suits are coming already.

http://chicago.gopride.com/news/arti...stage-collapse