SEOUL: Fourteen people were feared dead after a ventilation grate collapsed on Friday during a concert by a popular girls’ band in Seongam near South Korea’s capital, rescuers said.

Fire officials said two people had been confirmed dead and 12 others were unresponsive after the accident in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. They said 11 others were seriously injured. The officials said the victims were standing on the ventilation grate while watching an outdoor performance by girls’ band 4Minute, which is popular across Asia. About 700 people had gathered to watch the concert, which was part of a local festival, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.

The cause of the accident wasn’t immediately known.

The accident came as South Korea is still struggling to deal with a ferry disaster in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing.

“They were standing on the ventilation grate to get a better view when it collapsed under their weight,” a spokesman for the local fire services told AFP.

Television reports said the 25 people fell more than 30 feet into an underground parking area when the grate collapsed.

Most of the dead and injured were students, the YTN news channel said, adding that the concert organizers had repeatedly urged the spectators to move off the grate before it collapsed.

South Korea has suffered a recent series of catastrophic accidents involving young victims, including the sinking of the Sewol ferry in April that left more than 300 dead, most of them high school students.

In February, the roof caved in on a student-packed auditorium near the southern city of Gyeongju, killing 10 people and injuring more than 100.