選挙集会中に突風 ステージ倒壊で９人死亡 メキシコ

【メキシコ市ＡＦＰ＝時事】メキシコ北部ヌエボレオン州で行われていた大統領候補者の選挙集会で２２日、突風にあおられてステージが倒壊し、少なくとも９人が死亡した。（写真は事故現場に駆け付けたメキシコ軍兵士と検視官。メキシコ北部ヌエボレオン州で）
　事故は、州都モンテレイ首都圏サンペドロガルサガルシアで行われていた、市民運動党（ＭＣ）の大統領候補者ホルヘ・アルバレスマイネス氏（３８）の選挙集会で起きた。
　現地メディアの動画では、ステージの上に落下する照明や大型スクリーンの他、会場から避難する来場者らの姿が確認できる。事故発生当時、ステージにはアルバレスマイネス氏と複数の党員が立っていた。アルバレスマイネス氏に大きなけがはなかった。
　ヌエボレオン州知事のサムエル・ガルシア氏は、「現時点で大人８人と子ども１人の死亡を確認した」とＸ（旧ツイッター）に投稿。負傷者は約５０人いるとした。
　事故の発生を受け、アンドレス・マヌエル・ロペスオブラドール大統領は、ソーシャルメディアを通じて被害者の家族らに哀悼の意を表した。
　市民運動党は「被害を受けた人々との連帯」を示すため、アルバレスマイネス氏はすべての選挙集会を中止すると発表した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/05/23-21:02）

An election rally in northern Mexico descended into tragedy after a gust of wind sent the stage careening into the crowd on Wednesday night, killing at least nine people, including a child, authorities said.
At least 50 other people were injured in the accident, some seriously, according to Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia.
Footage of the incident showed a chaotic scramble as people screamed and tried to leap away from the collapsing structure while the lights and a giant screen toppled onto the area where presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez and members of his Citizens' Movement party were standing.
I regret to report that so far the number of people killed in the accident stands at eight adults and one minor, Governor Garcia wrote on social media platform X, adding that at least three people were undergoing surgery.
Speaking to the press from the scene of the accident in the town of San Pedro Garza Garcia, he described the accident as a tragedy.
Presidential longshot Maynez, who escaped without serious injury, said the stage collapsed after a strong gust of wind.
I am fine and in communication with the authorities over what happened, the 38-year-old wrote on X, adding that the priority was to take care of the victims.
Medical teams carted bodies on orange stretchers into waiting vans as soldiers roamed a field littered with debris and muddied campaign posters.
Rally attendee Jose Juan said he saw the structure come crashing down.
It hit me on the head and I fainted. The rest was pure hysteria, pure panic, he told broadcaster Televisa.
Citizen's Movement member Javier Gonzalez-Alcantara told Televisa that first responders had to pull people trapped underneath the collapsed pavilion.
All the people who were under the stage were rescued and the injured were taken to the hospitals, he said.
Mexico?s meteorological service had warned of heavy rain, wind gusts of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour and possible tornadoes in Nuevo Leon and other northern states on Wednesday night.
Governor Garcia urged people to avoid going outside because of the storms.
- 'Condolences and prayers' -
The event was the closing campaign rally for Citizens' Movement candidate for mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Lorenia Canavati.
Candidates for the centrist party at the senate and local level also participated.
Presidential hopeful Maynez, who suspended his upcoming campaign events to remain in San Pedro Garza Garcia, said that he would stay at the scene until the last injured person was taken to the hospital.
Some members of his team were receiving medical treatment, he said, without specifying their injuries.
In a post on social media, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his sympathies and said he was sending a hug to the family members and friends of the victims.
The other two presidential candidates also expressed solidarity with those affected.
Frontrunner Claudia Sheinbaum said that she was canceling a rally planned for Thursday in Monterrey, and expressed solidarity with the family and friends of the victims.
Main opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez offered condolences and prayers to the families of those killed and wishes for a speedy recovery to all the injured.
On June 2, Mexicans will vote for a new president as well as members of Congress, several state governors and local officials.
According to the polls, Maynez lags behind both Sheinbaum and Galvez, trailing at a distant third just weeks before the election.
The lead-up to election day has been marred by violence, with more than two dozen politicians killed since the electoral process began last September, according to research group Data Civica.