Nine people are dead, including a child, and at least 50 injured after strong winds caused a stage to collapse during an election rally in northernMexico.
The terrified crowd fled on Wednesday night aslights and a giant screen crashed during longshot presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez's campaign event inNuevo Leon.
Medical teams were seen moving bodies into vans as soldiers roamed a field littered with debris and campaign posters scattered on the ground.
Maynez escaped without serious injury, but some members of his team were being treated at the hospital. Their injuries remain unknown.
The presidential hopeful, who has suspended upcoming campaign events,said he would remain at the scene until the last injured person was taken to hospital.
Mexico's current PresidentAndrés Manuel López Obrador said he is sending 'a hugto family members, friends of the victims and political supporters.'
Vides on social media show the moment the stage collapsed into the large crowd on Wednesday night
Security forces cordon off the area after a stage collapsed due to a gust of wind duringpresidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez's campaign event on Wednesday
BREAKING: Stage collapses during political rally in northeast Mexico. At least 4 dead, many injured pic.twitter.com/9Aik66gdyv
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 23, 2024
The rally was held in San Pedro Garza Garcia, anaffluent suburboutside the city of Monterrey.
Videos appeared to showMáynez waving at the crowd as they chant his name before realizing that a giant screen is about to topple onto him. He quickly dashes toward the back of the stage in an effort to avoid being crushed by the falling structure.
Horrifying footage shows howthe terrified crowd screamed as they attempted to run away from the collapsing infrastructure.
Some attempted to climb out from under the metal polls that had fallen onto the large crowd.
Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia confirmed there were multiple fatalities in the accident, which he described it as 'a tragedy.'
'I regret to report that so far the number of people killed in the accident stands at eight adults and one minor,' Governor Garcia wrote on social media platform X.
Security forces stand around a stage that collapsed due to a gust of wind during a political rally in northern Mexico on Wednesday night
Citizens' Movement party president Jorge Alvarez Maynez reacts at the site after a gust of wind caused a structure to collapse, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries, at a campaign event for the Citizens' Movement party, in San Pedro Garza Garcia
A Mexican Red Cross rescuer checks a girl at the site after a gust of wind caused a structure to collapse at a campaign rally
The event was a closing campaign rally for the Citizens' Movement candidate for mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Lorenia Canavati
On his social media accounts,Máynez posted that he had been taken to a nearby hospital following the accident at the campaign rally.
He said that he was okay, but that there had been 'victims' of the crash.
'I am fine and in communication with the authorities' over what happened, the 38-year-old wrote on X, adding that the 'only important thing at this point' was to take care of the victims.
The event was a closing campaign rally for the Citizens' Movement candidate for mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Lorenia Canavati.Candidates for senators and lawmakers from the party also participated.
Rally attendee Jose Juan recounted how the structure came crashing down on the candidates and their supporters. He toldbroadcaster Televisa: 'It hit me on the head and I fainted. The rest was pure hysteria, pure panic.'
Mexico's meteorological service had earlier warned of heavy rain, wind gusts of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour and possible tornadoes in Nuevo Leon and other northern states.
Governor Garcia called on people to avoid going outside because of the storms.
At least 50 people were injured in the accident, some seriously. Medical teams were seen moving bodies into vans
Soldiers roamed a field littered with debris and campaign posters scattered on the ground
Electoral signs lay on the ground as security forces secure the area after a stage collapsed
Police vehicles and ambulances are seen at the site after a gust of wind caused a structure to collapse, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries
In a post on social media, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his sympathies to the family members and friends of the victims.
The other two presidential candidates also expressed solidarity with those affected.
Frontrunner Claudia Sheinbaum said that she was canceling a rally planned for Thursday in Monterrey, expressing 'solidarity with the family and friends of the victims.'
Main opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez offered 'condolences and prayers' to the families of those killed and 'wishes for a speedy recovery to all the injured.'
The mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, MiguelTreviño, said 'my prayers are with the victims' after confirming that some people had been'trapped and injured.'
Campaign events are being held across the country this week ahead of the anticipated June 2 presidential election, which will also include state and municipal elections.
A soldier stands guard after a gust of wind caused a structure to collapse, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries
Emergency personnel work at the site after a gust of wind caused a structure to collapse
A relief worker tends to a man after a stage collapsed due to a gust of wind duringÁlvarez Máynez's campaign event on Wednesday night
The lead up to the election has included a significant amount of political violence - including the murders of about two dozen candidates for various local offices.
The stage collapse is, however, the first accident of its kind to plague the campaign trail.
Álvarez Máynez has been polling behind the two frontrunners in the presidential race.
The favored candidate ahead of the forthcoming election is Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morerna Part, and behind her is is opposition coalition candidateXóchitl Gálvez.
