Boardmasters festival: Woman says '10 people' fell on her during crowd surge
Cornwall Council has opened a public protection investigation into the incident, which led to a stage being closed and a DJ's set being cancelled.
Tuesday 13 August 2024 16:31, UK
A woman was left screaming out in pain when "about 10 people fell onto" her legs during a crowd surge at a music festival.
Jade Brooks, from Rotherham, said she heard her knee "crunch" when people rushed towards a stage at the Boardmasters event in Newquay on Friday.
The 23-year-old dancer, one of seven people injured, told Cornwall Live that the crowd were already "packed in like sardines" in the lead-up to DJ Sammy Virji's performance when "more and more people" began "flooding in".
Ms Brooks, who said she went to the event with her younger brother and their cousin, went to hospital and an X-ray revealed she had a fracture in her knee.
She will spend the rest of her Cornwall holiday on crutches.
"We came to Cornwall for a two-week holiday, like we do every year, and this was in the middle of our holiday.
"Now this second week of the holiday is ruined, we can't do what we usually do, and I'm going to miss out on all family activities," she said.
A 16-year-old boy, who spoke to Sky News on Saturday, said he was "near the front" for DJ Virji's set, "when loads of people came in, I was pushed and fell on my back, with my leg twisted. It was hyperextended".
"It was incredibly painful, and I couldn't get up. There were people on top of me, and I was on top of other people," he said.
Cornwall Council has opened a public protection investigation into the crowd surges.
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On Tuesday, a spokesman said: "The council's public protection service is currently investigating the incident that took place at the Boardmasters festival on Friday, 9 August.
"We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing."
The Point stage, which was closed "to allow on-site teams to respond to an incident in the audience", was reopened the following day after a "multi-agency review" and the festival continued as planned until Sunday.
Festival organisers said seven attendees were transferred to a nearby hospital for "precautionary examination after presenting to our medical team".
The scheduled set by Virji, a DJ and producer, was cancelled, leaving him "gutted", he said, adding that "safety should always come first".
Devon and Cornwall Police Superintendent Russell Dawe said in a statement on Tuesday: "Unfortunately, we did have an incident in the crowd on Friday 9 August which resulted in some people being injured.
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"Most of these were treated by medical staff on-site, but seven were transferred to hospital from the event. All were discharged after treatment."
The incident "will be considered as part of our planned debrief after the event," he said.