Mexican festival AXE Ceremonia cancelled after crane collapse leaves two photographers dead

AXE Ceremonia Festival in Mexico City has been suspended after a crane collapse on site killed two photojournalists.

The major music event was taking place this weekend at Bicentennial Park, but was called off by local authorities on Sunday (April 6). A crane was transporting a decorative metal object when it collapsed at around 5:30pm on Saturday, reportedly due to a gust of wind.

Two photographers that were covering the event – Miguel Angel Rojas (26) and Berenice Giles (28) – were killed after suffering traumatic brain injuries and fractures. They had been working for the music publication Mr. Indie.

Los equipos de @MHGOByJ y @MHPrevencion, junto con el @inveacdmx, concluyeron la verificación y se colocaron los sellos de suspensión de actividades en los accesos al AXE Ceremonia, en el Parque Bicentenario.

Por lo que se suspende el evento de este domingo 6 de abril. pic.twitter.com/jjjWeXhUpl

— Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo (@AlcaldiaMHmx) April 6, 2025

“With deep sadness we say goodbye to our friends and colleagues, Berenice Giles and Miguel Hernandez, who lost their lives while doing their journalistic work,” Mr. Indie wrote in a statement. “Both were an essential part of Mr. Indie, a media that exists thanks to the passion of people like them. From our space, we want to honor their dedication, their love for music and photography, and their commitment to this project that was also theirs.”

Nos duele el corazón.

Bere y Miguel no solo eran parte de mr indie. Eran nuestros amigos, nuestros compañeros, nuestras miradas detrás de la música.

Hoy compartimos este comunicado para honrar lo que fueron y todo lo que nos dejaron. pic.twitter.com/n1NqTtblBY

— Mr. Indie (@_MrIndie) April 6, 2025

The mayor’s office of the borough of Miguel Hidalgo confirmed the event had been suspended on Sunday. “The teams from the Miguel Hidalgo Government and Legal Affairs, along with the borough’s Civil Protection department and the Administrative Verification Institute of Mexico City, completed the inspection and placed suspension seals at the entrances to AXE Ceremonia in Bicentennial Park,” they stated.

The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office announced that they had launched an investigation into the events leading to the accident.

AXE Ceremonia continued with its full line-up on Saturday after the accident, with performances from Charli XCX, South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together and Mexican rapper Natanael Cano. Sunday was due to see Massive Attack and Tyler, The Creator among others. The festival confirmed that all ticket buyers would be refunded via Ticketmaster.

pic.twitter.com/dNJXSU9RIs

— AXE Ceremonia (@AXECeremonia) April 6, 2025

The festival wrote on their Instagram stories. “With deep sadness, we confirm the passing of the two people who were injured during today’s incident,” she said. “We are deeply heartbroken by this loss. We are reaching out to their families to support them during this incredibly difficult time and to provide them with all our care and solidarity.”

“The safety of our community has always been our priority, and we continue, as from the very beginning, to maintain close collaboration and complete transparency with the authorities. We will continue to share official updates about the event through our social media channels.”

The mayor’s office added that the incident may have resulted from the installation of additional cranes that had not been included in the planned program for pre-festival inspection.

You can view the original article HERE.