Atmosphere Festival stage collapses killing DJ, injuring three
The Atmosphere Festival in Esteio near the southern city of Porto Alegre in Brazil was hit by tragedy this weekend when DJ Kaleb Freitas who was busy DJing at the time was critically injured by the collapsed scaffolding. He was 30 years old.
The incident happened at 2 o’clock on the Sunday afternoon, local time, and there were said to be approximately 5,000 people in attendance.
He was rushed to hospital but sadly succumbed to his injuries.
Scenes of the gale force winds were captured on video footage by party revellers including that moment when the scaffolding collapsed. It could have, of course, been a lot worse had the structures fallen forward onto the dance floor.
Nonetheless the death of Kaleb Freitas and the injury to backstage staff at the Atmosphere Festival is terribly sad.
Friends of the late DJ paid tribute to him on Facebook.
“You were a person of great light and your smile charmed many people. I told you that less than three weeks ago and be assured we will always remember you with a huge smile on your face.
“You were a spectacular man. Your smile represented peace. No-one dies while they remain in peoples’ hearts.” – Kaka Guimaraes
An exhibitor manager at the Atmosphere Festival said “It was madness. The scale of the tragedy could have been far worse. Things were flying all over the place. There was panic.”
A full investigation has been launched and questions will be asked as to why they did not stop the festival during the torrential rain, hail and extreme winds.
Corona Sunset Festival
High winds and a nearby fire in Cape Town caused the organisers of the Corona Sunset Festival to take the decision to cancel this weekend’s event, putting the safety of their staff and patrons first, rather than go ahead with the event.
Predictably there has been the usual fallout on social media with people asking why they did not plan better etc.
It is understandable that party goers were disappointed but totally absurd that the event organisers were criticised for doing the right thing.
Personally we’d like to commend the Corona festival organisers for making the right decision and avoiding a potential tragedy, as happened at the Atmosphere Festival in Brazil.
Footage from Atmosphere festival
