The lines of investigation give an account of the causes of the tragedy at the Medusa Sunbeach Festival in Cullera (Valencia), given that a 22-year-old man died last Saturday and another forty spectators needed health care, with five hospitalized, they point out in two aspects of the event. Analyzing if the meteorological alert has advised the cancellation before and evaluating how the scenic assembly and its safety had been carried out.
Regarding this last matter of logistics, the organizer, Andreu Piqueras, acknowledged a few days before the event that due to the general "extra cost" due to inflation, there was a shortage of material and they had run into "many problems with external companies in bathrooms, bars and stages”, precisely the elements that elviento started.
Along the same lines, Javier Montava, CEO of the Babalú Group, had explained before the festival that they had been forced to "hire many more people without being qualified" due to the lack of labor in this sector of big shows. In a particular case, he guaranteed that the work had been carried out without incident. In fact, the Cullera City Council confirmed that all the requirements had been met and the show and related activities had the required permits and licenses.
The judge asks for weather alerts
Whenever the weather forecasts are decided by a Swedish court, he has asked the Aemet to inform him of the weather alerts that they had spread in case he should have canceled the festival.
On Friday afternoon, the Meteorology Agency had warned of extreme heat and also of the high probability of strong gusts of wind, with a "red warning" according to the level of severity, which was located in the interior of the province of Valencia and not so much on the coast, as it finally happened. The phenomenon of "thermal outbursts" appeared to everyone, although due to successive heat waves, forecasts also pointed to the possibility of storms and even hail.
In fact, this weekend the Crazy Urban Festival in Torrevieja (before it started), the Rabolagartija in Villena (with an eviction of camped spectators), as well as the Nit de l'Albà in Elche, a show by fireworks scattered throughout the city.
Two of the injured reported
The investigation of the circumstances of the death of the young man from Daimiel (Ciudad Real) at the Medusa Sunbeach Festival continues in previous proceedings in a Swedish court and this Sunday, Civil Guard investigators have carried out an ocular inspection of the place in which the tragedy occurred.
Two of those injured by falling pieces of the stage have filed the first complaints in case there is a possible crime of injury due to recklessness.
Civil Guard personnel in the area of the musical event, for the investigation of REUTERS
The designer of the mountain, the Fallas artist Manuel García, assured that it was stable and that "a kind of cyclone that had never been seen before" in Cullera was the reason for the accident. Likewise, he specified that the virulence of the venus had managed to “overturn six-ton counterweights” in the aluminum structure.
Also after the tragedy, other spectators have uploaded videos to social networks in which some fragments of the scenic decoration are seen falling hours before the bad weather began, in a previous concert around half past nine at night, without consequences. By not reaching the public, since we passed at four in the morning.
