Organizers of the Waterbomb Japan music festival in Osaka canceled the event after a male staff member died during rehearsal.
The Waterbomb Japan event in Osaka was scheduled to take place on July 15 and 16. Its performers include artists Jessi, Kwon Eun-bi, Jay Park, Yugyeom, STAYC, pH-1, 2PM’s Nichkhun and Jun.K.
A previous Waterbomb music festival (Photo from Waterbomb Japan website)
The artists scheduled to performed at Waterbomb Japan music festival in Osaka (Photo from Waterbomb Japan Twitter account)
In a notice, organizers said the Osaka event was canceled due to the accident.
“Regarding the WATERBOMB JAPAN 2023 Osaka performance, which was scheduled to be held on July 15th (Sat) and 16th (Sun), a serious accident occurred during the construction of the venue,” it said.
It added, “Due to the above serious accident, we have decided that it is no longer possible to hold the event, and we will cancel the performance in Osaka.”
“We will take appropriate measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again. Tickets for the Osaka event will be fully refunded and more information will be provided at a later date,” it added.
Japanese media outlets reported that the accident happened at about 11 a.m. on July 14. According to the police, a water spray device was accidentally activated and water hit the face of a male staff member in his 40s.
The unconscious staff member was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The water spray device jets water at a rate of 120 km per hour, according to a news report.
The police are investigating the accident.