Slovakia: At least 15 hurt as storm hits music festival

Several people were injured when a thunderstorm hit an open-air festival in western Slovakia, emergency services said on Saturday.

The storm, which brought strong gusts of wind, struck the Pohoda (Comfort) festival in the city of Trencin, which lies near the border with the Czech Republic.

Friday's severe weather caused a stage and a large tent to collapse. Dozens of festivalgoers were inside the tent at the time, local media reported. 

Several festivalgoers taken to hospital

Officials said of at least 15 people hurt, 14 needed treatment in nearby hospitals.

Organizers said the injuries were mostly minor, including lacerations, but that one person sustained a hip fracture.

Other smaller tents belonging to visitors and stalls selling food and drink were also damaged. Power was also cut to the site.

Festival canceled halfway through

The event was called off on Friday evening.

"Based on the available information, inspecting all the structures could not be done in less than 24 hours, which makes it impossible to continue with the festival program," the organizers wrote on social media.

"After carefully considering the time required to inspect the safety of festival structures, we have decided that we must end Pohoda 2024," the post added.

Pohoda draws artists from around the world

The Pohoda Festival has been running since 1997 and offers various musical styles with local and international artists.

Acts including the band Morcheeba and Royal Blood, among others, were due to perform in front of a 30,000-strong crowd.

Local media said the public prosecutor's office is now investigating the incident as a possible criminal act of public danger.

Meanwhile, 135,000 households in the west of the country were temporarily without electricity because power lines were damaged by lightning and falling trees.

The storms also caused damage to railway lines in the south of the country.

mm/rm (AFP, dpa)