SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCÍA, Mexico — A strong gust of wind blew down the stage of a campaign rally Wednesday night in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, killing at least nine people, including a child, and injuring 63, the governor said. of the state.
The collapse occurred during an event attended by presidential candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez, who ran to escape. Videos of the collapse on social media showed people screaming, running away and crawling out from under metal poles.
The victims “will not be alone in this tragedy,” Máynez told reporters Wednesday night, adding that he had suspended upcoming campaign events.
Afterward, soldiers, police and other officials roamed the park grounds where the event took place as many of those nearby remained stunned and haunted by the tragedy.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he “sends a hug to family members, friends of the victims and political supporters.” Condolences came from all over Mexico, including from other presidential candidates.
In a video message, Nuevo León Governor Samuel García, a prominent member of Máynez’s Citizen Movement party, asked residents to shelter in place in their homes for the next two hours.
Máynez wrote on his social media accounts that he went to a hospital after the accident in the affluent suburb of San Pedro Garza García, near the city of Monterrey. She said she was in good condition.
“The only important thing at this moment is to care for the victims of the accident,” he wrote.
Videos of the accident showed Máynez waving his arm as the crowd chanted his name. But then he looked up and saw a giant screen and a metal structure falling towards him. He quickly ran to the back of the stage to avoid the falling structure, which appeared to consist of relatively light structural pieces, as well as what appeared to be a screen with the party logo and theater-style lights.
Máynez is polling third in the presidential race, behind favorite Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena Party and opposition coalition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez. Both sent their condolences, and Sheinbaum canceled a campaign event in nearby Monterrey the next day “in solidarity” with the victims and her loved ones.
“My deepest condolences and prayers to the families of the deceased, and my wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured,” Gálvez wrote in a post on social media.
The accident occurred in the middle of the campaign season, with many events held this week and next in anticipation of the June 2 presidential, state and municipal elections.
The campaign so far has been marred by the murders of about two dozen candidates for local office. But it has not been marred by campaign accidents.
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