Man dies, six injured after sign collapses at UK festival

A tragic accident at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex has claimed the life of a 41-year-old man and left six others seriously injured. The incident occurred when a large metal support sign collapsed onto a crowd of festival-goers at Wiston Estate.

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This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man at this difficult time.

Emergency services, including police and ambulances, rushed to the scene following the collapse, which happened around 3:30 p.m. local time. The victim, from Eastbourne, was pronounced dead at the scene, and his family has been informed. The six injured individuals were transported to the hospital for treatment.

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At least six other people have been injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

Following the incident, all remaining events for Friday were canceled, and attendees were instructed to return to their tents. The live broadcast of the festival was also abruptly halted. Police are investigating the cause of the collapse under Operation Igloo and are appealing for anyone with information or relevant video footage to come forward.

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I recognise the huge amount of disruption this has caused to those attending and we are working with a number of agencies to establish exactly what happened.

The Big Church Festival, an annual non-profit Christian music and worship event, has been held since 2009. While it has previously attracted up to 40,000 visitors, the main area was largely empty following the incident, with numerous ambulances present.

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We know thousands of people were present at the festival and we are asking anyone who has information or relevant video footage to contact us.