More than 22,000 evacuated as fire engulfs stage at Spain music festival

More than 22,000 people were evacuated on Saturday when the stage at an electronic music festival near Barcelona erupted in flames.

Pictures posted on social media showed the left-hand side of the stage at the Tomorrowland Unite festival in Santa Coloma de Gramenet in north-eastern Spain, near Barcelona going up in flames.

Firefighters rushed to the festival and eventually managed to extinguish the blaze.

No one was injured in the incident, firefighters said in a statement.

A total of 22,143 people had to be evacuated from the festival, they added.

It is not clear what caused the blaze, but organisers said on their Facebook page it was due to a technical malfunction, without going into more detail.

“Thanks to the professional intervention of the authorities all 22,000 visitors were evacuated safely and without reports of injuries,” they said.