During last weekend’s Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall, a “crowd crush” occurred during garage DJ Sammy Virji’s set, causing several injuries and hospitalisations. The incident took place on the evening of August 9th, leading to Virji’s set being cut short and headline act Sam Fender’s performance being paused. Devon and Cornwall Police were alerted to the situation and reported that seven people had been hospitalised with “minor injuries” for “precautionary examination”. Fortunately, no serious injuries or deaths were reported, and all those hospitalised have since been discharged.
Despite assertions from police that the event had continued following the incident, witnesses have described scenes of “carnage”, with many visibly distressed festivalgoers suffering from injuries. One witness described children crying and being carried away as a result of the crowd surge. The capacity of the festival was increased to a record high of 58,000 this year, an additional 5,000 attendees compared to the previous year.
The police statement contra to speculation, confirmed that no deaths have occurred, and that Boardmasters 2019 was continuing as scheduled. One 16-year old attendee reported experiencing a painful injury and becoming trapped after a surge of people nearby caused him to fall backwards. Another festivalgoer described her experience of being pushed onto by around 10 people during the performance, suffering a knee fracture and hearing a crunch as someone landed on it.
In an Instagram story shared after the incident, Sammy Virji emphasised the importance of prioritising safety at festivals even as it is also understood that events like Boardmasters play a major role in the local economy
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