Fire forces evacuation of Croatian hip-hop fest

Attendees of Fresh Island festival in Croatia were today (16 July) evacuated following the breakout of a fire close to the festival site.

Organisers of the 7,000-capacity hip hop festival transported fans offsite after reports emerged last night (15 July) of a forest fire near to the festival site on Zrce beach, on the Croatian island of Pag.

Emergency services were still working to contain the fire this morning.

Following the evacuation, the Fresh Island team said they were unsure how the fire would affect today’s beach performances. Headliner Tyga was due to play at Papaya nightclub (4,000-cap.), one of the evacuated venues. Other artists scheduled to perform include Tory Lanez, Stefflon Don and Hardy Caprio.

It's a whole forest fire at #freshisland pic.twitter.com/TRSGDIegTG

— Antonio Simmons (@antonio_simmons) July 15, 2019

“We would like to say a big thank you to all Fresh Islanders who were at the festival for being so patient and supportive of each other and for cooperating with security and emergency services during the fire to stay safe,” read a festival Twitter post.

Organisers have confirmed that no casualties have occurred and “everyone is safe”. Updates will be published through the festival’s social media pages.

Fresh Island festival is scheduled to take place from until Thursday 17 July. Past acts to play the festival include  Wiz Khalifa, Migos, ASAP Rocky, Snoop Dogg, Stormzy and Giggs.

Update: festival organisers announce that, following the clearance of the fire, Fresh Island is “to continue as planned with no further disruptions.”

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