Nine dead, 50 injured in Mexico stage collapse

Nine people have died and around 50 were injured after a structure collapsed at a campaign event for the Citizens' Movement party in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.

The party's presidential candidate, Jorge Alvarez Maynez, said on social media that a gust of wind caused the stage to collapse at the event in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, a wealthy enclave near the industrial hub of Monterrey.

Fuertes ráfagas de viento desploman templete en San Pedro, Nuevo León; Jorge Álvarez Máynez sale ileso. pic.twitter.com/r8dACvRoi7

— Enrique Muñoz (@enriquemunozFM) May 23, 2024

Alvarez said he was "OK" after being taken to a local hospital, but that members of his team were hurt and he was travelling back to the site of the accident.

In a video shared on social media on Wednesday evening, Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia warned residents to stay indoors amid strong thunderstorms in the area, citing the accident.