Over 70 hurt as lightning strikes rock fest

A rock festival in western Germany was suspended on Saturday after scores of people were injured in a lightning storm overnight and forecasters predicted more severe weather.

The police said more than 70 people were hospitalised when lightning struck the Rock am Ring festival at a former airfield near Mendig, 100 kilometres west of Frankfurt, late on Friday. Eight people were seriously injured, the festival organiser said.

Organisers on Saturday urged tens of thousands of visitors to seek shelter in their tents or cars, saying they were following orders from local authorities to put the festival on hold.

“It’s not about causing panic, but giving people the feeling that someone is looking after them,” said Marek Lieberberg, head of the organisers.

Rock am Ring is one of the most popular festivals in Germany and has been staged since 1985. Rock am Ring, which began Friday, continues through Sunday despite forecasts for further storms on Saturday.

The festival, now in its 31st year and with the Red HotChili Peppers and Black Sabbath at the top of the billing this year, takes place at the airport in Mendig, near the Nuerburgring motor racing track.

“We are not considering cancelling the festival,” said spokeswoman Katharina Wenisch.

The festival website warned visitors: “There is a possibility of strong rains and thunderstorms on Saturday evening. Visitors should be prepared and take precautions as needed.”

Lieberberg dismissed reports that organisers had failed to act quickly enough to warn music fans about the storm, blaming instead the “catastrophic weather situation in Germany” for the large number of injuries.

Germany, along with neighbouring France and Belgium, has been hit by severe storms that have caused heavy flooding in recent days.

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, chairman of ticketing company Eventim, said organisers hoped to be able to resume the show late Saturday if weather improves, but warned that more storms have been forecast for Sunday.

“The visitors’ safety is our top priority,” said Schulenberg. Last weekend, more than 30 people were taken to hospital in the western German village of Hoppstaedten when lightning struck the pitch at the end of a children’s football match. On the same day, 11 people, most of them children, were injured by lightning in a Paris park after taking shelter under a tree during a storm.