Mexico Rally Tragedy as Stage Crashes, At Least 9 Dead

At least 9 dead, including a child, and around 50 injured after a stage collapsed due to strong winds during a presidential campaign rally in Mexico's Nuevo León state.

At least nine people died, including a child, and around 50 were injured as a part of the stage at an election rally in San Pedro Garza Garcia in the Mexican state of Nuevo León fell on Thursday. It happened when center-left presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez was giving a speech.

Maynez himself was not injured in the collapse but some of his team members were injured. He explained that the lighting structure fell due to a strong wind gust, which he referred to as an ‘idiosyncratic weather incident’ that occurred in a matter of seconds.

"What we experienced happened in just a few seconds: “A gale came, a sudden wind, and unfortunately, it brought down the stage, which led to a fatal accident,” Maynez said to the media at the scene.

Videos that went viral on social media captured the scary moments when the structure collapsed with people running away. Maynez was seen waving to the supporters in the crowd before dashing to the rear part of the stage when it began to collapse.

Nuevo León’s Governor Samuel Garcia confirmed the casualties, eight adults and one child died. Three of them had to be operated on. He advised people to remain indoors because there were thunderstorms and gusty winds in the region.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador offered condolences admitting he was sending “a hug to the family members, friends and political supporters of the victims. ”

Maynez, the 38-year-old candidate of the Citizens’ Movement party stated that all the future campaign activities have been cancelled. They include Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena Party and Xóchitl Gálvez of the opposition coalition who also pulled out of their campaign events as a sign of respect to the affected families.

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The incident has raised concerns in Mexico’s election campaign which has been characterized by violence, with hundreds of politicians and public servants reportedly killed or threatened before the June 2nd presidential election.