A crowd surge at a music festival has left a “small number“ of people injured with some requiring hospital treatment, police said.
The incident happened on Friday in Newquay at the Boardmasters music festival, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors over five days.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the incident was isolated with festivities continuing, although organisers said a planned set by DJ and producer Sammy Virji had to be cancelled.
None of the injuries were considered to be serious, police added.
One woman, who described the incident as “terrifying”, said she and her daughter were crushed against the barriers during the crush.
“So, I heaved her up and over a barrier and then pulled myself out,” she told the PA news agency.
Reunited with her husband and younger daughter outside, the family eventually decided to leave the festival altogether.
“My daughters were terrified,” she added.
Festival organisers announced the cancellation of Sammy Virji’s set on social media.
“Sammy Virji’s set was cancelled this evening to allow our on-site teams to respond to a crowd surge,” Boardmasters said in a statement on X.
“No serious injuries have been reported and our pit and medical teams responded immediately to assist those involved.
“Safety is our number one priority and we thank Sammy and our audience for their understanding. All other stages have been unaffected and performances continue as planned.”
DJ Sammy Virji said he was “gutted” to have his set cancelled, but said “safety should always come first”.
“I’m incredibly gutted about the stage cancellation for Boardmasters, whilst I’m absolutely honoured at the amount of people who turned up, crowd surges can be very serious and safety should always come first,” he said in a post on Instagram.
“The stoppage was completely out of my hands and hope you all understand the festival needed to prioritise everyone’s wellbeing. Hopefully catch you all soon at another set.”
A record number of 58,000 attendees are expected to visit the festival this year as it features lead artists Chase & Status, Sam Fender and Stormzy.
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