Fresh Island fire: Croatia music festival evacuated after blaze breaks out near beach
Papaya nightclub where Tyga was scheduled to perform was one of three locations evacuated
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Your support makes all the difference.Thousands of guests at Fresh Island festival in Croatia have been evacuated due to a fire that has engulfed a nearby forest.
Footage showed smoke and flames rising from the trees near the hip-hop festival, which takes place on Zrće beach on the island of Pag.
A spokesman for Fresh Island festival said: “Due to the fire behind the far side of Zrce we have paused tonight’s performance under instruction from the police and fire service as a safety precaution.
“Security have escorted fans to the beach and parking behind Noa Club and will direct people to shuttle buses leaving from the top of Noa Club parking near the main road to take people to Novalja town.
“We advise everyone to please use the buses provided to get back to the town. The safety of everyone at the festival is our utmost priority and we appreciate everyone’s patience during this time.”
Papaya nightclub, where Tyga was scheduled to perform, was one of the three venues evacuated.
In one clip posted on social media, a reveller can be heard saying “oh my God, it's chaos” as people move away from the fire.
In a video of the evacuation at Papaya, an announcer can be heard telling the crowd: “Leave the club slowly, no need to panic, everything is under control, alright?”
Jess Storey, who was at Papaya nightclub with her friends, told Mirror Online: “The flames were at times double the height of the trees and the smoke cloud grew very quickly also.
“We spotted it as we filmed videos from the raised VIP section of the club and noticed that it was spreading rapidly across the forest over the bay due to the high winds.
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“We made the decision to leave immediately - many people had noticed the fire but were filming it and not taking action so we decided to get out before there was a mass stampede.
“The people on the lower level did not seem to have noticed the flames.”
So far there have been no reports of injuries.
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