One dead, at least 60 injured after stage collapses

People at the music festival say the storm came out of no where and caught everyone off-guard.

"One minute the sun was shining, next thing you know, dark clouds - I honestly thought it was a tornado," said witness Travis Ulliac.

Witnesses say the stage tipped forward and then collapsed backwards while dozens of people were sitting in designated seating on top. 

"There was probably 150 people on the stage at the time," said Ian Dalsin.

Within moments Dalsin says he was only able to see a few feet in front of him as heavy winds and dust caused blackout conditions.

P andemonium was the scene at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose on Saturday evening when the main stage collapsed in a wicked storm, killing one person and sending 15 others to hospital.

Four of those people were critically injured.

Country singer Billy Currington was just finishing up his set at 6 p. m. when the sky turned dark and spectators began to run for cover from the open-air concert bowl.

"Everyone take shelter and have a good night," someone yelled from the stage to the crowd as sand whipped up into the air.

Within seconds, a violent wind blew over plastic chairs over like dominos and then knocked down the stage with Currington, his band and dozens of spectators and crew still on and underneath it.

The floor of the stage caved in before the structure collapsed into itself.

"It's a tornado," someone yelled. "I'm having a heart attack," wailed someone else.

Panicked festival-goers crouched down into balls, while others fled for shelter.

Thunder, lightning, hail and heavy rain continued to pummel the site as emergency crews worked to get to those trapped by the stage.

Pieces of the stage dangled and blew in the wind.

It is not yet known if it was a tornado, but there was a weather warning from Environment Canada of a severe thunderstorm with high winds, hail and heavy rain for the area.