Thousands evacuated from Barcelona festival as fire engulfs stage

Thousands evacuated from Barcelona festival as fire engulfs stage

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN

Updated 1549 GMT (2349 HKT) July 30, 2017

Flames engulf an outdoor stage at the Tomorrowland festival in Barcelona on Saturday night.

(CNN)More than 22,000 fans were evacuated after a fire erupted on stage at the Tomorrowland music festival in Spain, authorities said.
No injuries were reported as attendees fled the concert area near Barcelona late Saturday night, the city's fire officials said in a statement.
"At this time, the fire is totally extinct although very hot areas remain and the entire assembly structure is at risk of collapsing," the statement said.

The fire was caused by a technical malfunction, according to a post on the Tomorrowland website.
"Authorities will follow up and continue the investigation with the local Spanish organizer," the post said.
Festival attendee Abel Radakovich told CNN that a calm and orderly evacuation helped keep everyone safe.

https://youtu.be/JZJz0InuuGk

"No one died because people evacuated walking," Radakovich said. "If someone ran, they told him not to because it could form an avalanche and crush people."
"Luckily we managed to stay calm," he said.
The music festival takes place in different locations simultaneously, with the main stage based in Belgium.
Tomorrowland hosted its first event in 2005 and has grown in popularity since. In 2013, tickets for the event sold out in one second.

CNN's Amanda Jackson and Peter Dailey contributed to this report.