One person died and 22 others were injured when a large event tent collapsed during EastLake Community Church's 20th anniversary celebration in Moneta, Virginia, officials said.
Heavy rain, lightning and powerful winds were moving through the community when the collapse occurred Friday evening, according to Bedford County spokesperson Shelley Basinger. The church was holding an outdoor service, and people had begun leaving the tent when it came down, acting Bedford County Fire and Rescue chief Abbey Johnston said.
Eleven injured people were transported to a hospital. Another 11, whose injuries were described as minor, received treatment at the scene. Officials did not provide information about the hospitalized patients' conditions.
Emergency crews worked to account for those attending, rescue people inside the structure and take them to a safer location while the storm continued. Johnston described the first phase of the response as chaotic because responders needed to determine where everyone was.
Senior pastor Troy Keaton said he had stepped onto the stage to direct the gathering to their cars when a gust lifted the tent. In a social-media statement, he said a member of the church suffered a fatal injury and expressed grief for the man's family. Officials did not identify the person who died in the supplied report.
The tent could seat 1,500 people, authorities said, although the number inside at the moment of collapse was not immediately known. That uncertainty meant the seating capacity should not be interpreted as an attendance count.
Bedford County officials began gathering evidence to determine how the structure failed. Basinger said the county's building inspections division had inspected and approved the tent three days before the incident. The fact that it passed that check did not resolve the cause of the collapse, which remained under investigation.
Moneta is about 124 miles, or 200 kilometers, southwest of Richmond. The severe weather combined strong winds with heavy rain and lightning as the church celebration was ending. A separate report from Anadolu also described the storm toppling the celebration tent and confirmed the reported toll of one dead and 22 injured.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said her team was communicating closely with responders at the scene. She offered support to EastLake Community Church and those affected and said the state would continue assisting the community.
The available official statements establish the timing, weather conditions and casualty count but leave several questions open. Investigators had not announced a cause beyond the circumstances of the storm, the number of attendees remained unclear, and no prognosis had been released for those taken to hospital.
