15 injured in stage collapse at Holland’s Dicky Woodstock festival

At least 15 people are thought to have been injured at the Dicky Woodstock 2012 festival in Holland, as treacherous winds tore through one of the event’s stages, splnetwork.com has reported.

The event, which took place in Steenwijkerwold in Overijssel, has not reported any major casualties following Saturday’s (August 4th) stage collapse, with local authorities claiming that those hurt in the accident were not seriously injured.

Around 150 people had gathered in the tent waiting for the band Walker Heze to take to the stage, although the band had yet to begin their set when the freak winds hit the tent.

According to eyewitnesses, the conditions turned treacherous with little warning, taking both the event’s organiser and festivalgoers by surprise. "The weather change was unexpected and extreme," said music journalist Jean-Paul Heck. "The weather was nice when we arrived at 20.00, but the winds hit within two minutes."

The rain quickly turned to gale force winds and large hailstones, bringing the tent down on top of the crowd that had gathered inside. "It looked very dramatic. People were being removed from under the canvas," added Heck.

This latest incident follows a string of similar tragedies, whereby treacherous conditions have caused vast stage structures to collapse. Earlier this year a Radiohead concert in Canada resulted in tragedy following a stage collapse, killing one member of the band’s technical crew.

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