Mexican festival AXE Ceremonia cancelled after crane collapse kills two photographers
One of Mexico’s largest music festivals, AXE Ceremonia, has been cancelled following the death of two photographers covering the event. On April 5th, a crane collapsed on the festival site, killing Miguel Angel Rojas, aged 26, and Berenice Giles, aged 28.
Following the incident, authorities in Mexico City suspended the festival on April 6th. Reportedly, the crane collapsed while carrying a large metal decorative object due to a sudden gust of wind. The two photographers, who had been working with the music publication Mr. Indie, died as a result of traumatic brain injuries and fractures.
Despite the crane collapse part-way through Saturday’s event, the festival continued for the rest of the day. Artists like Charli XCX, Tomorrow X Together, and Natanael Cano performed at the festival in the hours after the incident occurred. On Sunday, Tyler, the Creator, and Massive Attack were set to take to the main stage at the event.
In the wake of the incident, Mr Indie paid tribute to the two photographers, writing on social media, “With deep sadness, we say goodbye to our friends and colleagues, Berenice Giles and Miguel Hernandez, who lost their lives while doing their journalistic work.”
The statement continued, “Both were an essential part of Mr. Indie, a media that exists thanks to the passion of people like them.”
“From our space, we want to honour their dedication, their love for music and photography, and their commitment to this project that was also theirs,” the publication continued. The caption of this statement further added, “Bere and Miguel weren’t just part of Mr. Indie. They were our friends, our colleagues, our eyes behind the music.”
AXE Ceremonia, which has been running since 2013, shared a statement confirming the cancellation of the festival, adding, “The safety of our community has always been our priority, and we continue, as from the very beginning, to maintain close collaboration and complete transparency with the authorities. We will continue to share official updates about the event through our social media channels.”
The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the crane collapse, and entrances to the festival site in Mexico have been sealed off while the investigation continues. Festival organisers have affirmed that ticket holders will be refunded via Ticketmaster.
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