circus tent
A tent collapse at a New Hampshire festival killed two and injured at least 22. In this photo, a worker climbs to the top of a circus tent in San Francisco, California November 13, 2007 Reuters/Robert Galbraith

At least two people were killed and 22 injured when a circus tent collapsed on Monday due to a severe storm. Those killed were a man and a girl.

State Fire Marshal William Degnan said Monday that the injured were taken to four hospitals in the area. Their condition remained unknown. The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. during the first of two scheduled shows at the Lancaster fairgrounds, the Associated Press reported. Earlier, the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area.

Degnan said that about 100 people were in the tent when it collapsed during the show by Florida-based Walker International Events. He added that the identities of the victims would not be released until their families were notified.

The collapse also comes a day after one person died and over a dozen were injured when another tent blew off its moorings and fell on the crowd gathered for a festival in Chicago. The annual Prairie Festival celebration had attracted about 5,000 people when the tent collapsed.

"We were trying to squeeze in (the tent) so we didn't get hit by hail," an unnamed witness told NBC Chicago. "There was the tent, and it just flew and it crashed over."

The highly popular Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago was also briefly closed due to stormy weather. Organizers were forced to end the event 30 minutes early Sunday night when another storm hit the area.

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