The third and final day of the mammoth "Rock-am-Ring" festival is cancelled after lightning strikes injure more than 80.
- Third and final day of “Rock-am-Ring” cancelled
- 90,000 festival go-ers asked to leave
- More than 80 injured in lightning strikes on Saturday
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The authorities in Germany have cancelled the third and final day of a huge rock festival after more than 80 people were injured by lightning strikes.
At least eight people were taken to hospital, according to the German Red Cross.
#Germany #Weather
Music Festival #RockAmRing: 51 people injured (15 seriously) after lightning strikeshttps://t.co/PMkdQeCvxc
vtagesschau</a></p>— Muschelschloss ️ ☕ (Muschelschloss) June 4, 2016
Lightning strikes hospitalise more than 40 people at music festival in Germany https://t.co/jNKnxBWVLc
— The Independent (@Independent) June 5, 2016
Performances at the sell-out “Rock-am-Ring” festival at the town of Mendig 100 kilometres west of Frankfurt were halted for several hours on Saturday due to torrential rain and thunderstorms.
Despite vowing to continue, with more storms forecast the event’s license was revoked early on Sunday morning.
The announcement was made on the festival’s Facebook page:
What have the organisers said?
The organisers say they regret having to make the decision but say it is necessary to ensure the safety of fans.
They have asked participants to clear the festival grounds by noon on Sunday.
“Rock-am-Ring”
Anthony Kiedis
ChiliPeppers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rar2016?src=hash">#rar2016</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamrockamring?src=hash">#teamrockamring</a> <a href="https://t.co/w59cs7MKIQ">pic.twitter.com/w59cs7MKIQ</a></p>— Rock-am-Ring (rockamring) June 4, 2016
- Attendance more than 90,000
- 31st year
- Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Sabbath at the top of the bill
- 33 festival-goers were injured by lighting last year – German media