About 190 sickened at Limburg shooting festival

About 190 people went to the Public Health Service and first aid workers during the Old Limburgs Shooting Festival in Maasniel near Roermond on Sunday after the heat left them feeling unwell. 

The temperatures reached around 30 degrees during the festival. The people became unwell while watching the procession of the gunmen. One woman had a heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital, NOS reports. Mayor Rianne Donders later told the broadcaster that she is doing well under the circumstances.

Some of the shooters were also overcome by the heat. "The weather was hot and the gunmen wore outfits often made of wool during the procession", Marc Breugelmans of the Festival told NOS. "The effort combined with the weather conditions - a humidity of 25 percent - meant that people became ill. People fainted or suffered from dizziness. Young people in particular became unwell."

About 25 thousand people visited the festival.