disastrous stage collapse kills 5 at belgium festival

Another summer music festival in Belgium suffered a disastrous stage crash on Thursday, killing at least five people and almost ending the career of the young Chicago band Smith Westerns.
Whether it\'s a string of unfortunate coincidences or the dire new reality of the growing festival of global warming, the disaster at pukkelpop festival marks the destruction of this summer\'s fourth major concert by the collapse of the stage.
On July 27, the main stage of the Ottawa Blues Festival suffered a strong wind in a cheap performance, injuring several spectators.
In July 7, in an outdoor show in Tulsa, lighting equipment for burning lips collapsed.
Just last Sunday, a stage at Indiana State Fair collapsed before the country act, Sugar Land, began broadcasting, killing five people and injuring more than 40 others.
The Smith Westerns were apparently in the middle of their set at Pukkelpop in Hassel, Belgium, about 80 kilometers east of Brussels, and suddenly, a violent wind --, rain-
The hail poured down the stage of one of the festivals around them.
Several trees also fell down.
According to early reports from The Associated Press, the band escaped unscathed, but at least 40 people were injured in the accident.
More than 20 am soldiers were sent to the scene to take care of the wounded.
The festival attendance, headed by Foo Fighters and Eminem, is about 60,000.
\"The stage collapsed max (Kakacek)
The singer of Smith\'s western film, Cullen Osen, posted on Twitter shortly after the collapse.
\"I hope pukkelpop is in all of our s---is broke.
No one was hurt in prayer.
\"Toronto saxophone player Joseph shabbasen performed with the Vancouver destroyer in Pukkelpop earlier in the afternoon, and when word of disaster came, he had just left the festival grounds.
The stage they performed before, the castle tent, was crushed by fallen trees.
\"When we were fully packed and ready to leave at 5: 30, the only thing that was not normal was that the sky was dark.
But it\'s not actually darker than any other sky that\'s about to rain, \"shabbasen said via email.
\"20 minutes after we left the festival, we received a call from the booking agent asking if we were okay and if we had someone injured because they had just heard that our tent had collapsed.
They also say that some other stages have collapsed and people have died. . . .
\"The video I watched on YouTube really impressed me how dramatic the weather was.
I mean, 20 minutes before Hell\'s gone, it\'s a nice day without the wind and when you see the festival video it looks like a tornado is hitting the place.
The trend is \"absolutely shocking,\" said shabbasen, adding that he hopes \"these tragedies will help festival organizers to produce and use the stage that will better withstand strong winds.
Having said that, I really don\'t know how you can be prepared for a tree falling on a tent or God\'s thunderstorm. ”Actor-turned-
Rock singer Jared Leto, at the 30-second festival from Mars, has expressed his concerns about the Pukkelpop crowd on Twitter.
Soon after, he wrote: \"Four stages
Please be safe if you are here.