At least three injured after grandstand collapses at sold out music festival
At least three people were injured when a temporary grandstand collapsed during a music festival.
The grandstand was set up on Coolangatta Beach, on the Gold Coast in southeast Queensland, for the sold-out Red Hot Summer Tour.
It collapsed about 2.50pm AEST on Sunday during a performance by Boom Crash Opera, an Australian pop-rock band.
At least three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Another 18 were treated at the scene.
Hundreds of attendees were ushered off the beach when paramedics arrived.
Claire Borg, an off-duty nurse from Macksville, was sitting in front of the grandstand when it caved inward.
‘We heard this almighty crash, we looked back and all the seats collapsed,’ she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
‘It was like this crash and I saw people bouncing.’
A grandstand collapsed on the Gold Coast on Sunday afternoon (source: @nottheadviceyaafter/Reddit)
At least three people sustained minor injuries (source: @1029hottomato/Instagram)
She and her friend Alicia Glohe, also a nurse, helped several people who were trapped with ankle, shin and foot injuries.
‘It was just this crash and then it was quiet. There weren’t any screams. We just heard a clunk, clunk, clunk,’ Ms Borg said.
The festival resumed roughly an hour after the collapse.
Organisers said the grandstand was cleared for use by engineers on Saturday and offered a full refund for anyone sitting in the affected area.
Workplace Health and Safety will investigate the incident.
