Dozens Suffer Heat Exhaustion At Stage AE

NORTH SHORE (KDKA)- At least 38 people required medical attention after succumbing to heat exhaustion at Stage AE during an Austin Mahone concert Tuesday night.

According to officials, heat exhaustion caused the concert-goers to feel dizzy and faint. In one case, a 14-year-old girl experienced chest pains.

KDKA's Paul Martino Reports:

Of the 38 people who fell ill, eight were taken to Allegheny General Hospital for treatment.

"I really do believe it was a mix of the warmth and the amount of people who were pressing in to see the show," Pittsburgh Police Spokesperson Sonya Toler said.

Toler said the first patients began passing out around 7 p.m. and emergency workers spent the next several hours treating more people who fainted and felt dizzy.

The eight people taken to Allegheny General Hospital were alert and conscious. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

The 14-year-old with chest pains was taken to Children's Hospital. She was also alert and conscious when she arrived at the hospital.

One parent was outraged. She took her daughter to the concert and contacted KDKA-TV:

"I saw at least 50 girls faint and have to be literally carried away. And even more crying due to long waits in line in the sun with no shade. The inability to bring in water, no water sales for hours, an uncontrollable crowding in front of the stage, water being sprayed with a hose on the crowd due to inescapable heat, and worst of all, no seats."

"They were pulling people out one by one. They were pulling them up over the fence because they couldn't get to them," said Green Tree's Lesley Mangis, who took her niece and her friend to the show. "People were screaming help and they couldn't get to them. And then they started hosing them down with a hose."

Fans at the show took to Twitter to discuss the incident.

I can't believe stage ae was just on the news because of last night. So many people were sick, passing out & hurt I hope everyone is okay!!

— brenna (@BCepull32) August 27, 2014

KDKA's Amy Wadas Reports:

The National Weather Service said the temperature at 7 p.m. last night was 82 degrees. The temperature was 78 degree at 8 p.m. Relative humidity ranged from 50 to 60 percent during this time.

Toler said it is vital to stay hydrated if you're outside for long periods of time.

"Water is our best friend so drink plenty of water," Toler said.

Relative humidity ranged 50 to 60 percent during the concert. Meteorologist Dennis Bowman says this would not create dangerous conditions, unless people were just dehydrated going into the concert.

Stage AE was not available for comment.

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