A worker died Saturday morning after falling in the staging area at the site of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Indio police confirmed to the Palm Springs area publication the Desert Sun. The worker’s identity had not been announced at press time.
Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron told the paper a worker in the staging area of the Empire Club Polo grounds had fallen and died at the scene. In a tweet, Cal Fire reported a “traumatic injury” and said a person “fell from a roof and perished at the scene” near Avenue 50 and Monroe Street. Guitron said officers received a call around 9:30 a.m. Saturday local time about an accident at the site. He added that the incident has been reported to the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The festival will take place at the Empire Polo Club grounds next weekend and the weekend of April 19-21.
A rep for festival promoter Goldenvoice did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
According to a report in TMZ, an eyewitness said the worker, who was not wearing a safety harness, was climbing the stage scaffolding and fell about 60 feet.
The most recent death connected with the festival occurred In 2014, when a woman collapsed during the festival and later died at a local hospital.