Governor says a father and daughter were killed in circus tent

Two people were killed when a circus tent collapsed at the Lancaster, New Hampshire, fairgrounds as severe weather moved through the area Monday evening.

“We lost two lives – a father and a daughter – at an event that was supposed to be fun”, Gov. Maggie Hassan told local TV station WMUR. He described them as a “young gentleman” and a “young girl”, but declined to give their ages, saying their families were still being notified.

Officials worked through the night to investigate the collapse of the tent and authorities were looking into how it was put up. “That’s why it’s very important for the public who was there to reach out to the fire marshal’s office and talk with them so we can piece together what happened as accurately as possible”.

At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, New Hampshire Fire Marshal William Degnan said autopsies determined they died of blunt force trauma as a result of the structure coming down during a storm as a performance took place.

He said it was not clear why the circus went ahead with the show despite the warning and that circus officials were waiting for advice from their lawyers before responding to state inquiries.

At least some of the injured sent to hospitals have been discharged.

Officers surround the scene of a tent collapse in Lancaster, N.H., Monday, August 3, 2015. He did not immediately have updates on the victims, who he said either drove themselves or were taken by ambulance to one of four area hospitals.

The wind picked up the tent, and in so doing, the tent’s steel infrastructure began to fall in on the audience of approximately 100 people.

Ms Medeiros said she and son were not hurt, but the poles came within feet of their seats.

Sanford’s director of parks and recreation, Marcel Blouin, said Tuesday he had not been contacted by the circus and did not know whether the Sanford shows would be canceled or rescheduled because of the accident investigation. Organizers ended the ultimate day of the pageant 30 minutes early Sunday night time when one other storm hit the world. The circus was scheduled to head to Bradford, Vermont, for shows on Tuesday and Wednesday.