A stage collapse during a campaign rally late Wednesday in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon killed at least nine people — including a child — and injured a further 63, the state’s governor said.
AP reports the deadly incident occurred as centre-left presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez was delivering a speech in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, near Monterrey.
Videos of the tragedy shared on social media showed people screaming, running away and climbing out from under metal polls.
The collapse was caused by a sudden gust of wind, Maynez said in a post on X.
The debris is seen covered with a tarp after a stage collapsed during a campaign rally for Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on May 22, 2024. (JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Relief workers and security forces stand next to electoral posters after a stage collapsed due to a gust of wind during an event attended by presidential candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez in San Pedro Garza García, on the outskirts of Monterey, Mexico, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)
The victims “will not be alone in this tragedy,” Máynez told reporters Wednesday night, adding he had suspended upcoming campaign events.
Videos of the accident seen by AP showed Máynez waving his arm as the crowd chanted his name. But then he looked up to see a giant screen and metal structure toppling toward him.
He ran rapidly toward the back of the stage to avoid the falling structure, which appeared to consist of relatively light framework pieces as well as what appeared to be a screen with the party’s logo and theater-style lights, AP set out.
Máynez has been running third in polls in the presidential race, trailing both front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena Party and opposition coalition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez.
Both sent their condolences. Sheinbaum canceled a campaign event in nearby Monterrey the next day “in solidarity” with victims and their loved ones.
Forensic personnel move a body after a stage collapsed during a campaign rally for Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on May 22, 2024. (JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Afterward, soldiers, police and other officials roamed the grounds of the park where the event took place while many nearby sat stunned and haunted by the tragedy.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he “sends a hug to family members, friends of the victims and political supporters.”
Condolences poured in from across Mexico, including by other presidential candidates.