Belgian Festival Stage Collapse Kills Five

A huge storm caused a stage at the Hasselt based festival to collapse killing five people on site and injuring more than 60.

According to BBC News, The Chateau stage was brought down during a huge storm on the site yesterday afternoon. It's believed trees were uprooted by strong winds and smashed into the rigging. The Shelter stage has also been damaged by trees.

Bands such as 30 Seconds From Mars, the Foo Fighters, Within Temptation and the Offspring were due to play at the festival, but as you would expect the rest of the festival has been cancelled by organisers.

The Foo Fighters said via their Twitter page "Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the tragic events at Pukkelpop."

Organisers issued a statement saying "Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims. Words are not enough. We have struggled with the decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011. What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted. We are deeply moved by all the spontaneous support the festival goers and the organisation have received. We call on all Pukkelpoppers to return home calmly. Extra buses and trains have been organised to bring everybody home. We ask everyone to understand that this decision was extremely difficult to make."

Remarkable scenes were captured by festival goers during the storm which show how bad the weather got:

This footage was taken from the Chateau Stage moments before it collapsed:

This footage was taken from inside a food stall as festival goers took refuge: