At least 5 dead, 50 injured as stage collapses at campaign rally in northern Mexico

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) – At least five people were killed and 50 injured when strong winds caused a stage to collapse at an event Wednesday in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico, authorities said.

The tragedy occurred during a rally in support of Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez, who was unharmed.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had initially announced four deaths and up to 15 injuries from the accident. He extended his condolences and support to those affected on his X account.

"I embrace the families, friends of the victims and sympathizers of this organization. We remain vigilant," he said.

Following Lopez Obrador’s initial briefing, the state’s governor, Samuel Garcia, contacted him and updated him on the number of casualties.

"We are very sad. I just got off the phone with the president to inform him that there was a tragedy. Preliminarily, we have five people dead and approximately 50 with different types of injuries, some serious," Garcia told reporters.

Alvarez Maynez, the presidential candidate for the Movimiento Ciudadano Party, said he was in stable condition at a hospital.

"I am well and in communication with state authorities to follow up on what happened. The only important thing right now is to attend to the accident victims," he added.