Disaster struck at the Medusa Festival in the town of Cullera near Valencia at 4:18 a.m. local time “due to a strong gust of wind,” they said.
Early Saturday morning festival management announced that the festival had been suspended.
“Due to inclement weather occurring in the early hours of Aug. 13, 2022, and with the aim of guaranteeing the security of the concert-goers, workers and artists gathered at the Medusa Festival, the festival organization suspends its activity for the time being,” festival management said on Instagram.
“The festival site is cleared as a preventative measure with the aim of facilitating the work of the emergency and security services at the Medusa Festiva,” it added.
Videos posted on social media early Saturday showed strong winds and structures falling from the stage as large crowds of festival attendees were evacuated.
The Valencia section of Spain’s national weather service (AEMET) said on Twitter that warm breezes were producing very strong gusts of wind and abrupt increases in temperature.
Around 3 a.m. local time, the temperature was a blistering 40.5 Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit) at the Alicante-Elche airport, just south of the concert site, on the Mediterranean coast — with winds measuring 82 kilometers (around 50 miles) per hour.