SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, Mexico — At least nine people, including a child, were killed and 121 injured when strong winds collapsed a stage at a campaign rally in northern Mexico, the governor of Nuevo Leon state said Thursday.
The collapse occurred during an event Wednesday night attended by Jorge Alvarez Maínez, the presidential candidate who suffered a major defeat in the election, as he tried to flee. Videos of the collapse posted on social media showed people screaming, running and crawling out from under the metal poles.
Mynes told reporters on Wednesday night that the victims “will not suffer this tragedy alone,” adding that he would suspend future election campaign activities.
Soldiers, police and other officials walked around the park grounds where the incident occurred afterwards, leaving many nearby people shocked and troubled by the tragedy.
Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel Garcia, a leading member of Mines’ Citizen Movement party, said in a video message that 94 of the injured had been treated and released from hospital, while 27 remained hospitalized. State health officials said many of the injuries involved skull fractures. Garcia said several victims had undergone surgery and some appeared to be in critical condition.
Garcia said the accident happened “within a matter of seconds.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said most of the injured were women, and even before the investigation was launched he absolved Mr. Mines’s Citizen Movement party, widely seen as a tacit ally of Mr. López Obrador’s Morena party, of any responsibility.
“I know they’re not to blame,” the president said Thursday. Condolences poured in from across Mexico, including from the other two presidential candidates.
Minez posted on her social media accounts that she had gone to hospital after the accident in San Pedro Garza Garcia, a wealthy suburb near the city of Monterrey, and said she was in good condition.
“The only thing that matters at this time is caring for the victims of the accident,” he wrote.
Footage of the incident showed Mynes waving his arms as the crowd chanted his name, but when he looked up he saw a large screen and metal structure falling towards him. He rushed to the back of the stage to avoid the falling structure, which appeared to consist of relatively light framework pieces and what appeared to be a screen displaying the party’s logo and theater-style lighting.
Alejandra Gamez Escalera wrote on Facebook that her father and 11-year-old stepbrother died in the collapse. She said she had attended the event to hear a band that was scheduled to perform at a campaign rally.
“If you had stayed home and not gone to the event, none of this would have happened,” Gamez Escalera wrote.
Minez is third in presidential polls behind both the ruling Morena party’s front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum and opposition coalition candidate Xochitl Gálvez. Both women expressed their condolences, with Sheinbaum cancelling a planned campaign event near Monterrey the following day in “solidarity” with the victims and their families.
“My condolences and prayers go to the families of those who died and I pray for a speedy recovery for all those injured,” Galvez said in a social media post.
The incident occurred in the middle of election season, with many events being held this week and next in anticipation of the June 2 presidential, state and city council elections.
The election campaign has been thrown into turmoil by the murder of around 20 local election candidates.
Aid workers and security forces stand next to a campaign poster after a wind gust collapsed a stage during an event for presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Mainez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, a suburb of Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that four people were killed and at least 12 were injured. (Photo by The Associated Press/Alberto Lopez)
A campaign sign lies on the ground as security forces seal off the scene after a wind gust collapsed a stage during an event for presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Mainez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, outside Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that four people were killed and at least 12 were injured. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)
Security forces sealed off the scene after a wind gust caused a stage to collapse during an event for presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Mainez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, outside Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that four people were killed and at least 12 were injured. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)
Security forces stand around a stage that collapsed after a strong wind caused it to collapse during an event for presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Mainez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, outside Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that four people were killed and at least 12 were injured. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)
Rescue workers assist a man after a wind gust caused a stage to collapse during an event for presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Mainez in San Pedro Garza Garcia, outside Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that four people were killed and at least 12 were injured. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)