AN ESTIMATED 312 spectators have been injured – nine of them seriously – after a wooden platform collapsed during the O Marisquiño fiestas in Vigo (Galicia) last night.
Those hurt were watching Mallorca rapper Rels B perform at the time of the accident caused by a structural problem with the raised dancefloor.
Panic ensued with hundreds of people running and screaming from the scene, including many teenagers.
Several fell into the sea, and personal effects such as handbags were left scattered on the ground.
Two of the injured are said to be in intensive care.
Mayor of Vigo Abel Caballero says 'nobody's life is in danger' and that 240 of the wounded have been discharged from hospital or did not need admission – despite having fallen from a height of several metres, at least the equivalent of a first-floor apartment.
Organisers of the festival insist all safety measures were in place.
Meanwhile, emergency services worked until after dawn to aid the victims, divers went out into the sea to check for bodies and a help centre has been set up in Vigo's Plaza de Estrella.
Terrified spectators described the horrors to reporters, with one saying the floor dropped suddenly 'like a lift shaft' and another revealing how people were 'falling on top of her' as her foot was wedged into the platform and she was unable to escape.
Some say they opted to run for terra firma whilst witnessing others falling into the sea 'on top of each other, and several being flung several feet into the air as the 'ground opened beneath their feet'.
Those who fell into the sea were underneath the wreckage of the platform until they were able to swim for safety.
A few of the spectators were young teenagers, accompanied by over-18s in accordance with the rules, and who had never been to a concert before.
One woman said she was awoken by police in the early hours to learn that her daughter, aged around 17, was in hospital and was suffering amnesia due to a blow to the head.
The second photograph shows the platform over the edge of the port with the wooden floor caved in.
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