Storm causes evacuation at gymnastics festival
Strong winds of up to 100km/h have caused havoc at the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival in Biel, destroying a camping site and causing the evacuation of thousands of participants.
Organisers also cancelled the opening ceremony, scheduled for Thursday evening and being attended by the sports minister, Ueli Maurer.
The storm started at around 8pm, with the winds blowing away anything that was not fixed or pinned down, it was reported. Particularly affected – as can be seen in the picture – was the huge camp site in which participants and others were staying.
Around 500 children were already on stage, organisers said. Thousands of visitors were in the area.
Although organisers were aware of a potential storm, everyone was surprised by its ferocity, police chief Fabian Sauvain said.
Only two people were reported to be slightly injured. It is not yet clear whether the opening ceremony will take place, according to festival director Fränk Hofer.
The Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival offers a variety of sports in 100 disciplines and is scheduled to run until June 23.
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