Pukkelpop Festival officially canceled, death toll increases

According to Billboard, the rest of the Pukkelpop music festival has been canceled in the wake of yesterday's stage collapse. The death toll has also risen to five, and the revised injury tally stands at 75 people. The article also gave more details about the extent and causes of the damage:

On Thursday (August 18) at approximately 6:30 p.m., the festival and campground in Kiewit, Belgium, near the town of Hasselt roughly 50 miles east of Brussels, was hit with a massive rain and hailstorm that damaged three stages  (The Chateau Tent, Boiler Room and Wablieft Tent) and the festival's infrastructure as trees fell and debris swirled about.

Ambulances and cranes were called to the scene for help. The injured were brought to the Hasselt hospital, others to the Kiewit Sports complex for treatment. One festivalgoer said the cell phone network was completely jammed adding to the confusion.

The A.P. reported that officials said at a joint press conference on Friday with Hilde Claes, the mayor Hasselt and festival organizer Chokri Mahassin that meteorologists did not predict a storm of that intensity. “I have seen many tropical storms, Mahassine said, “but this was unprecedented.”

We'll have more information as it's known. And be sure to check out AP's news coverage from yesterday.

In addition, more video has surfaced of the scene at the festival–and as you can see below, the storm occurring is unprecedented in strength.