At least nine people were killed and dozens injured when a wind gust collapsed a stage at a campaign rally in northern Mexico on Wednesday evening.
The rally was held in the state of Nuevo Leon for Jorge Alvarez Minez, a candidate facing a major defeat in the Mexican presidential election. Minez was taken to hospital after the incident but later said he was in good condition, according to the Associated Press.
He also said he would cancel any upcoming election campaign events, adding that the victims were “not alone in this tragedy.”
“The only thing that matters at this point is caring for the victims of the accident,” he said.
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A campaign rally for Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Minez turned into a disaster on Wednesday night when high winds caused the stage to collapse, leaving at least nine people dead and 63 injured. (JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia, a leading member of Mines’s Citizen Movement party, said at least nine people were killed, including a child, and 63 were wounded.
He also posted a video message asking area residents to shelter in place for the next two hours due to the weather.
According to the Associated Press, video of the rally showed Meines waving his arms and the crowd chanting his name, when he saw a giant screen and metal structure pointed toward him. I noticed it falling towards me. He ran to the back of the stage and was able to escape the falling structure.
Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Álvarez Maínez was on stage when a gust of wind caused a giant screen and a metal structure to fall in his direction. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)
Many other voters screamed and ran, while some crawled out from under fallen metal poles, according to the Associated Press.
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Mines, who is third in the polls for the country’s presidential election, follows in the footsteps of Claudia Sheinbaum and Xocitr Gálvez, who both paid tribute shortly after the tragic incident took place.
Leading the charge, Sheinbaum said he canceled a campaign event for Thursday in the nearby city of Monterrey “out of solidarity” with the victims and their families.
“My condolences and prayers go out to the families of the deceased, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Galvez posted on social media.
Deadly winds hit the northern Mexican state, prompting Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia to urge local residents to stay in their homes for two hours. (AP Photo/Alberto Lopez)
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also offered his condolences, saying he sends “hugs to the families, friends and political supporters of the victims.”
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Mexico is in the midst of an election campaign, with presidential, state, and municipal elections held on June 2nd.
In addition to Wednesday night’s deadly weather event, the election season has also been marred by the murders of around two dozen local election candidates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
