LED Screen Falls at Florida Music Fest Site; 3 Hurt

A large LED screen being set up for the Ultra Music Festival crashed onto the main stage Thursday night in downtown Miami, seriously injuring two workers.

Fire rescue workers responded to Bayfront Park at about 8 p.m. and took two victims to Ryder Trauma Center, according to Lt. Ignatius Carroll Jr., a Miami fire and rescue spokesman. Carroll said one worker was in critical condition, another serious.

A third worker suffered minor injuries and was transported to another hospital, and a fourth was treated on the scene after being shaken up by what he saw.

An event spokeswoman, Alexandra Greenberg, says that the accident occurred during preparations for the festival.

Carroll said the LED screens were about 30 feet above the stage, and that one section – several squares connected together – fell.

“For whatever reason they came crashing down on workers on the stage,” he said.

He said the workers were struck by a section that was about 7 feet in height and that extended three-quarters the length of the stage.

Firefighters who were there as a standby unit responded, removing debris and freeing the workers, Carroll said.

“Fire Rescue was on site so there was a rapid response,” event spokeswoman Greenberg said in a statement. “Festival organizers are working with, and supporting, authorities as they investigate the details behind the accident.

The fire marshal, structural engineers, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration representative, and city police and fire officials plan to review the accident scene on Friday.

“Once we get the approval that everything is structurally sound, we’ll go ahead and allow the event promoter to open up the finished stage,” he said. The main goal is to prevent something similar from happening on the main stage, which faces downtown Miami, and the other stages.

The annual outdoor electronic music festival is set to begin Friday and run over two weekends. Among those scheduled to perform are David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5, Avicii and Snoop Lion, who was formerly known as Snoop Dogg.