Nine people are dead and many more injured after a stage collapsed at a rally for one of Mexico’s leading presidential candidates, according to authorities.

At least nine people, including one child, are confirmed to have died, and over 50 have been injured, at a rally for Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, near Monterrey, according to BBC. A stage and its accompanying lighting rig collapsed on the assembled crowd when the outdoor venue was struck by a freak gust of wind in the incident in Mexico’s northern Nuevo León state.

VIDEO: At least nine people, including a child, have died after strong wind gusts caused a stage in northern Mexico to collapse during a campaign rally.
🎥 @PEREZ_COLUNGA & Daniel Herrera
📸 Julio Cesar Aguilar#AFPVertical pic.twitter.com/or7ya8oc5b

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 23, 2024

Maynez was unhurt while several of his staff were treated at the San Jose hospital, according to several updates the politician made on Twitter. “What we experienced happened in just a few seconds: A gale came, a sudden wind, and unfortunately, it collapsed the stage, resulting in a fatal accident,” he told reporters at the scene, according to BBC. (RELATED: WARNING GRAPHIC: Dancer Gets Crushed By Video Monitor While On Stage)

State governor Samuel García later confirmed that there were 70 hospitalizations and nine deaths, with 11 patients discharged. “I am going to the clinics and hospitals together with the Secretary of Health Alma Rosa Marroquín to provide support to the injured and their families, with whom we have had contact from the first moment. If you can, avoid going out because there are storms and atypical winds. I will keep you informed,” he told followers on social media.

Los integrantes de mi equipo que resultaron lesionados ya están siendo atendidos en el hospital.

Me dirijo nuevamente al lugar de los hechos para acompañar a las victimas. https://t.co/nb9tHxADLp

Actualización:
70 hospitalizados,
9 defunciones y
11 pacientes se dieron de alta.

Seguimos relaciando pacientes con familiares, mi celular 8116620611.

— Samuel García (@samuel_garcias) May 23, 2024

Jorge Alvarez Maynez is reportedly the first sole presidential candidate from Mexico’s center-left Citizens’ Movement Party. He is currently third favourite to win the election which is due to take place on June 2, according to a report in The Guardian. The current front-runners for the race are reportedly Claudia Sheinbaum from the incumbent Morena Party and Xóchitl Gálvez, the opposition coalition candidate.