Report: 2 dead, 22 hurt in New Hampshire tent collapse
By Associated Press
Aug 3, 2015 10:11 PM CDT
Officers surround the scene of a tent collapse in Lancaster, N.H., Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. Authorities say the circus tent collapsed when a severe storm raked the New Hampshire fairground. (Sebastian Fuentes via AP)   (Associated Press)

LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) — Officials say a young man and a girl were killed and at least 22 people were injured when a severe storm blew down a circus tent in northern New Hampshire.

State Fire Marshal William Degnan said late Monday night that the injured were taken to four regional hospitals.

The accident happened around 5:30 p.m. as the first of two scheduled shows was getting underway at the Lancaster fairgrounds, about 90 miles north of the state capital in Concord. Degnan said Sarasota, Fla.-based Walker International Events was scheduled to do the shows Monday before moving on to Vermont on Tuesday.

Degnan said the identities of the victims, both spectators, wouldn't be released until their families were notified.

State police say 250 people were in the tent when it collapsed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A circus tent collapsed when a severe storm raked a northern New Hampshire fairground Monday, killing two people and injuring 15 others, authorities said.

WMUR-TV (http://bit.ly/1Hnh5WB) reported that state Department of Safety spokesman Michael Todd confirmed the fatalities.

The accident happened Monday evening at the Lancaster fairgrounds, about 90 miles north of the state capital in Concord. Walker International Events was scheduled to do two shows Monday before moving on to Vermont on Tuesday. The company did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday night.

State police say it's unclear exactly how many people were hurt but up to 250 people were in the tent when it collapsed.

Gov. Maggie Hassan said state officials are monitoring the situation.

The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the area during the time of the collapse.

The collapse comes a day after one man died and more than a dozen were injured when a tent where people had sought shelter during a brief storm blew off its moorings and fell on some of the crowd at a festival in a Chicago suburb. The annual celebration known as the Prairie Fest had attracted about 5,000 people when the tent collapsed.

The popular Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago's Grant Park briefly shut down Sunday afternoon due to the weather, then resumed less than an hour later. Organizers ended the final day of the festival 30 minutes early Sunday night when another storm hit the area.