Open-air festival in Slovakia cancelled after thunderstorm

An open-air festival in the city of Trenčín in Slovakia has been cancelled prematurely after a storm devastated the site and several visitors were injured.

"Based on the available information, inspecting all the structures could not be completed in less than 24 hours, which makes it impossible to continue with the festival programme," the organizers announced on social media on Saturday.

As the day progressed, the festival site gradually emptied, the Aktuality.sk news website reported.

The Pohoda (Comfort) festival at the Trenčín airport grounds was supposed to run from Thursday to Saturday evening.

The event, at which James Blake, the band Morcheeba, the Black Pumas and Slovakian singer Richard Müller, among others, are due to perform, is designed for up to 30,000 visitors.

On Friday evening, a large tent collapsed during a thunderstorm with strong gusts of wind.

According to Aktuality.sk, there were several hundred visitors in the tent at the time. Rescue teams searched for people under the tent with sniffer dogs and thermal cameras.

According to the emergency services, 15 participants were injured, 14 of whom had to be treated in the surrounding hospitals.

Smaller tents belonging to visitors and stalls selling food and drink were also damaged. In some places, the electricity had to be switched off on the site.

According to reports in the Slovakian media, the public prosecutor's office is now investigating on suspicion of general danger.

Slovakian Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said it was right that the organizers had stopped the festival prematurely. However, the question arises as to whether the decision should not have been made earlier.

Storms and thunderstorms also caused severe damage elsewhere in the south and west of Slovakia.

According to the news website sme.sk, 135,000 households in the west of the country were temporarily without power because the lines had been damaged by lightning and falling trees.

In the south, railway lines were particularly affected. Eurocity trains to Budapest and Prague had to be rerouted.