42 hurt when railing collapses at Snoop Dogg concert

Upcoming concerts will go on as scheduled at an amphitheater where a railing collapsed during a Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa concert, injuring 42 people, promoters said Saturday.

Engineers were trying to figure out what happened at Camden’s BB&T Pavilion, an outdoor venue with an indoor seating section and open lawn seating.

A partition separating the lawn from a secondary stage set up at the rear of the seating section collapsed around 10:30 p.m. Friday, causing people to fall roughly 10 feet onto the concrete below.

The collapse occurred as the rappers were gesturing to fans to come toward the small stage, officials said. As people rushed toward the railing, it collapsed.

Live Nation, which operates the venue, announced Saturday that it had “secured” the impacted section of railing. The company also said in a statement that it was working with authorities and structural engineers to determine the cause of the collapse.

The concert company said an “I Love the 90s ” concert Saturday — featuring Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice and other performers — and a Sunday show by Fifth Harmony would go on as planned.

One fan suffered a serious upper body injury and was hospitalized overnight, Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen said. That person, whose name was not disclosed, was released on Saturday morning.

Forty-one other people were treated for bruises and other minor injuries, though some had broken bones. Some Live Nation employees were among the injured, the company said.

Concertgoer Katie Colbridge said the show, which was about halfway finished, stopped abruptly when the accident happened. The performers were ushered from the stage moments after the collapse, and the show was later canceled.

An announcer urged the audience to remain calm as police and medics tended to the injured.

Camden city spokesman Vincent Basara said city fire crews and inspectors responded to the scene and were there Saturday morning. They were working to stabilize the railing where the collapse occurred and determine what repairs would be needed.

Source: AP