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One person killed, several hurt when tent collapsed at festival near Chicago

One person died and 15 others were transported to local hospitals after strong winds toppled a tent at the Wood Dale Prairie Fest in Wood Dale, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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“The tarp landed on several people, and rescuers started cutting holes to get them out”, she said.

The famous Lollapalooza festival was briefly evacuated around 3 p.m.as the storm rolled over Chicago.

Lollapalooza organizers said in a press release that the festival would be shut down “for a short period” and that attendees were being directed by event staff and the Chicago Police Department to pre-established underground evacuation and shelter sites along Michigan Avenue. A man is loaded into an ambulance following a fatal tent collapse at the Prairie Fest in Wood Dale, Ill., Sunday, August 2, 2015. No injuries were reported.

The police called it a “tragic accident” and said the incident is under investigation. “We’re grateful that there were no injuries, that’s the main thing”, Gary Mack told the Tribune.

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The dome in Rosemont, outside the field where the Chicago Bandits softball team plays, collapsed as the storm moved through that area, witnesses said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family”, it read. “Then five minutes later, light hail started falling and then just all hell broke loose, for lack of a better term”, he said.

Police and fire officials hold up a sheet a body following a fatal tent collapse at the Prairie Fest in Wood Dale Ill. Sunday Aug. 2 2015. Several people were injured after the tent collapsed at the festival in suburban Chicago according to the Chica