Aussie teacher suffers serious injuries at music festival in Japan

Dramatic video shows a crane crashing down on people in an incident which saw an Australian woman seriously injured at a music festival in Japan. Here is everything you need to know.

An Australian schoolteacher is among several seriously injured after a crane crashed onto a crowd at a music festival in Japan.

The woman, from Perth, suffered a fractured skull and other injuries in the accident when the crane carrying heavy camera equipment fell into the audience at the two-day Parasite Deja Vu Festival in Osaka.

The woman is understood to have been on holidays with her partner.

Around 14,000 people attended the festival, with the remainder of the event cancelled after the accident just after 1pm on Sunday local time.

Dramatic video shared on social media shows the crane crashing onto people’s heads.

An Australian schoolteacher was among several seriously injured after a crane crashed onto a crowd at a music festival in Japan., The woman, from Perth, suffered a fractured skull and other injuries in the accident when the crane carrying heavy camera equipment fell into the audience at the two-day Parasite Deja Vu Festival in Osaka. Pictured is the event details Source: https://theoralcigarettes.com/feature/parasite_dejavu

Remarkably, just five people were injured with authorities now investigating.

The towering crane measured 12 metres in length with the camera and equipment reportedly weighing 240kg.

Several people were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

A statement on the festival website read: “First of all, we would like to offer our deepest apologies to those who were injured in the accident and their families.”

Organisers, rock band The Oral Cigarettes, said a full report into the incident would be provided “once it becomes possible to do so”.

“Regarding the cause of the accident, we conducted detailed interviews with the person in charge and employees of the company in charge of lending and operating the camera crane, and confirmed that the accident was caused by the equipment being operated beyond its safe load capacity, which resulted in the crane tipping over from its base,” the statement continued.

An Australian schoolteacher was among several seriously injured after a crane crashed onto a crowd at a music festival in Japan., The woman, from Perth, suffered a fractured skull and other injuries in the accident when the crane carrying heavy camera equipment fell into the audience at the two-day Parasite Deja Vu Festival in Osaka.

“Please note that this notice is based on the circumstances of this accident that we are aware of at this time. We will report on this incident if any new information becomes available. Thank you for your understanding. It’s just too painful. We are very sorry. I pray for your speedy recovery.”

A two-day festival ticket cost around $160 while a one-day pass sold on the official website for about $88.

Artists on the multi-bill line-up included Hey-Smith, The BONEZ, Coldrain and Scandal.

The festival was hosted in Osaka’s Izumiotsu area.

Local news outlet The Asahi Shimbun reported that the Sakai Semboku Wharf Co administers the site with the music festival held on a reclaimed land (created from repurposed waste and other materials) inside the Izumiotsu Phoenix Fairgrounds.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been contacted for comment.