On the evening of August 15, the 14th Beer Festival organized by Qiankun Group in Mianzhu, Deyang City, Sichuan Province was abruptly interrupted when two scaffolds collapsed and fell onto the crowd. Official reports stated that the incident resulted in the death of 2 people and left 3 others severely injured, sparking skepticism among netizens.
According to videos shared by eyewitnesses, heavy rain was pouring from the sky that night as the event took place inside a massive tent where a singer was performing. The tent was filled with a large crowd when suddenly, two scaffolds supporting the tent collapsed and landed on the people, causing panic and screams among the attendees.
Sichuan Emergency Management reported on August 16 that around 9:50 pm on August 15, “the scaffold collapsed due to severe convective weather” at the 14th Beer Festival held by Qiankun Group in Mianzhu, resulting in injuries. After rescue efforts, “2 people died, 3 were severely injured.” The cause of the incident is currently under further investigation.
The official report raised doubts online, with netizens questioning the casualty count. Some expressed disbelief, saying, “A steel structure of tens of meters long and tons of weight fell and hit people on their heads. How can it be just 2 deaths and 3 injuries?” Others commented, “I believe more than just a few people were affected. Some pillars hit right in the center, the most densely populated area.”
One netizen remarked, “Exactly 2 deaths, not more or less! Guess why not 3 or 4 deaths?” Another replied, “If three people die, the severity escalates, so it’s better to stack them first and assess the situation. The three couldn’t die immediately; they have to wait a few days, or consider them severely injured first.”
“It’s said that hospitals are overwhelmed.” “Why didn’t they stop the event with such bad weather?” “Why investigate the cause when it was known there was a typhoon? Why hold a Beer Festival?” “Shoddy construction.” “Building a rain shelter on scaffolding sure takes skills!”
Public records indicate that Qiankun Group Limited Company, headquartered in Jiangsu Industrial Park, Mianzhu Economic Development Zone, Deyang City, Sichuan Province, was established in 2000.
As per the weather forecast from Sichuan Meteorological Bureau, on August 15, due to the residual circulation of Typhoon “Yangliu” and the weak shear line between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau high, the weak wind shift between the Pacific subtropical high-pressure system, most of the Basin was cloudy with thunderstorms or showers from daytime to night, with short-term intense winds during thunderstorms. Mianyang, Deyang, Chengdu, and Luzhou cities had heavy rain to torrential rain in some areas; the northern part of the western Sichuan Plateau was partly cloudy with scattered showers, while the rest of the plateau and Panxi region were mostly cloudy with thunderstorms or showers, with some areas experiencing moderate rain.
The Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a blue alert for severe convective weather and a yellow alert for heavy rain at 10:00 on August 15, with the Sichuan Basin being highlighted.