Bumbershoot reopens after barricade collapse

SEATTLE — Video shows the chaotic moments when a barricade collapsed at Bumbershoot, injuring more than two dozen people.

The barricade collapsed Saturday night at the Fischer Green stage just as Bangladeshi artist Jai Wolf was taking the stage.

Bumbershoot released a statement Sunday saying a new barricade was installed and inspected so the shows would go on.

Some people returning to the music festival Sunday were in the midst of the chaos Saturday night.

Video shows a sea of fans eagerly awaiting the start of the concert by Wolf. Suddenly, the large crowd appears to surge forward and then collapse on top of itself.

"We kind of got out from the middle because they were all pushing in the middle," said Parsa Roshanravan of Bellevue. "We decided to get away from the crowd."

Roshanravan was there with several friends.

"We felt a push, and then all of us toppled over," said Roshanravan, "and there was, like, two girls on my legs. And we were, like, trying to get people up and out."

They weren't hurt, but many others were.

Video shows the moment of the collapse (Credit: Cindy Raley)

"We saw some security officers like carrying people out from all the ruckus," he said. "And there was like people were injured. Some people broke their legs. I saw some girls crying that they couldn't walk."

"One of my friend's friends got trampled by the crowd," said Nick DeHollander, of Ellensburg. "And she got a deep gash in the side of her leg.  The security guys were telling everyone to move back, and they weren't listening."

Video captures security guards trying to restore order. Twenty-five people were treated by Seattle fire medics. Four of them were taken to Harborview Medical Center. Some of the injured sent KIRO 7 photographs.

A Harborview spokeswoman would not characterize their injuries, but she said no one had to be hospitalized.

Bumbershoot organizers sent this statement following Saturday night's incident: 

"Saturday night at Bumbershoot Festival there was a steel barricade failure that resulted in several non-life threatening injuries. Those injured were handled by on-site medical teams and further treatment was continued at an area hospital as deemed necessary. We are monitoring the situation and will update as we get more information."

It was not enough to keep Wolf fans like Carla Segurola, of Seattle's Capitol Hill, away from Bumbershoot.

"I'll be there," Segurola said. "But I'm sad to hear somebody was injured. I hope everybody's OK."

In fact, Wolf is to take the Fisher Green stage again in about 20 minutes. The show is indeed going on.

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