Image by Richard Smith CC BY-SA 2.0 - A big music festival was cancelled due to heavy thunderstorms in Germany
- At least 8 people have been reported as seriously injured by lightning
- Fans had to find shelter and criticized organizers for cancelling too late
It was one of the most anticipated music festivals in Europe – but it ended abruptly on a tragic note as at least 8 music lovers got hurt from lightning.
Organizers of the Rock am Ring music festival in Germany was cut short due to an accident caused by lightning that hurt at least 50 members of the audience.
Reports about the incident from European news sites such as BBC said that the organizers made the decision after finding out that more bad weather was in the forecast for the area. Local authorities also revoked the license of the organizers on Sunday morning. In a posted official statement, the local authorities expressed in their native language that they regret revoking the license but they found it necessary to protect the fans.
92,000 fans were forced to seek shelter in cars and tents as performances lined up for Saturday were suspended until further notice because of the thunderstorms.
The event firm hosting the event was criticized online for not canceling the event early enough. In the festival’s website, a warning on possible thunderstorms and a heavy rainfall has already been posted prior to the event dates.
The music festival was held at the town of Mendig in an airport; located west of Frankfurt.
Recently, Central Europe has been filled with severe storms and heavy rains. It has led to 11 deaths in Germany.
The Rock am Ring festival is one of the most popular events in Germany. It has been going on for 31 years. Last year, it also suffered from lightning strikes when 33 people were taken to the hospital.
Among the bands who were on the program line up were Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, Deftones, We Are Scientists, Foals, and many more.
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