At least nine people have been killed and 20 others injured in a stampede at an outdoor concert in western Guatemala, emergency workers said.
Local media reported that the victims were crushed as thousands of people tried to leave an open-air esplanade at the end of a concert during the traditional “Xelafer” festival in Quetzaltenango, about 200km (125 miles) west of the capital Guatemala City, early on Thursday.
First aid workers were helping injured people and ambulances were at the scene, images from Guatemala’s Red Cross showed on Twitter.
“The Guatemalan Red Cross and volunteer firefighters stabilised more than 20 injured people and nine people died at the scene,” the relief agency tweeted.
The event was held to mark Independence Day in the Central American country, local media said.
Nancy Queme, who was at the concert, told The Associated Press news agency that thousands of people attended the concert. “Because of the rain, there was a lot of mud,” she said. “I think because of this people couldn’t move and they fell.”
The lineup of bands had started playing on Wednesday afternoon, and Queme said there were families with children even in the early hours of Thursday.
“They closed off the whole area and only left two access [points],” she said. “The entrances seemed really small to me. I stayed pretty far back and decided to leave minutes before the end of the concert.”
The injured people, some with suspected fractures, were taken to hospital, local firefighters said on Twitter.
