At least nine people were killed and at least 56 injured in a northern Mexican city when a stage where a presidential candidate was campaigning for a local candidate collapsed in a gust of wind on Wednesday night, authorities said.
The stage collapsed during an event attended by progressive candidate Jorge Álvarez Maínez and other members of the Citizen Movement party in San Pedro Garza García, a suburb of Monterrey in Nuevo Leon state. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on social media that the collapse was caused by strong winds.
Samuel Garcia, Governor of Nuevo León, said: Social media One of the dead was a child. San Pedro Garza García Mayor Miguel Treviño announced the injured in a video, adding that all the injured had been taken to the hospital.
The stage set up at the baseball field was a campaign venue for Citizens' Movement Party candidate Lorenia Canavati, who is running for mayor. The party announced that all activities planned by candidates for Thursday were canceled after “hurricane-like winds” caused the stage to collapse.
Alvarez Mines told reporters that he first noticed the strength of the wind when the wind threatened to blow away his band's drum set, which was scheduled to perform that night. When the stage collapsed, he and others reportedly jumped.
“It's terrible that the people who came to enjoy a day of celebration and joy with us and the band are now the victims of this tragedy,” Álvarez Mines said.
After the collapse, Alvarez-Mines said on social media that she was “doing fine” and was in contact with state authorities to try to figure out what had happened. Canavati said her team was coordinating with authorities to provide support to the victims.
Mexico's weather service said Wednesday evening that wind gusts of up to 43 miles per hour were expected in the country's northeast, and tornadoes were possible in Nuevo Leon and neighboring states.
Nuevo Leon Governor Garcia said in a video message that people should take precautions against the storm.
“Severe thunderstorms are occurring. Very strong winds and heavy rain are expected for the next two hours,” he said. “A tragedy has already occurred.”
People across Mexico will vote on June 2 for the presidency and more than 20,000 local, state and congressional positions.
Civic Movement, a center-left party founded in 1999, is represented in this year's general election by Alvarez Maínez. Meinez is pitching himself as a third-party alternative to Claudia Sheinbaum, the leading candidate from the ruling Morena coalition, and the opposition party's Xochitl Gálvez.
victoria kim and Natalie Khitroev Contributed report.