A television cameraman writhes in agony after he is hit in the groin by one of the bottles thrown at Campfire following the announcement that Beenie Man would not be performing. - Nathaniel Stewart photos

Reggae Campfire held at the Windalco Sports Club in Ewarton, St Catherine, ended abruptly on Thursday morning when the stage was bottled by irate patrons after it was announced that dancehall artiste Beenie Man would not be performing.

Billed as one of the main acts for the night, Beenie Man was present at the venue in the early hours of Thursday morning, but left before performing after an alleged incident took place backstage.

Fight erupted

According to a member of theSTAR team who was present at the event, there are unconfirmed reports that a fight erupted between a member of Beenie Man's entourage and a member of fellow dancehall artiste Mavado's entourage.

Efforts to contact Beenie Man and his camp, Mavado, as well as the promoter for Reggae Campfire, proved futile.

Pushed to the floor

It is rumoured that guns were drawn after a member of Beenie Man's entourage was pushed to the floor and that Beenie Man left the venue after the incident took place.

Police from the Ewarton Police Division said an incident occurred but they are unaware of whether or not a gun came into play. However, they are investigating.

After it was announced that Beenie Man would not be performing, bottles were flung onstage, and a stampede occurred in the VIP area as persons rushed to leave backstage. Other persons, took cover where possible.

An eyewitness told the STAR: "The promoter came onstage after the emcee and seh that Beenie collect him pay and seh him nah work after Mavado and leave."

Different account

Another source who was at the event gave a different account. "Beenie Man, as far as I know, was supposed to end the show. While Elephant Man was performing, Beenie's band set up onstage and were even playing a few tracks for Ele. I heard that Mavado was supposed to come on next. I saw the promoter talking to Beenie. After they were talking, it was announced that Mavado was gonna perform next. At that point Beenie informed his band and they packed up and Beenie and his entourage left the event. It's not clear why he left. After Mavado and Bounty performed, the people were there waiting to see Beenie."

Before the alteration took place the event was incident-free with performances from Black-er, Anthony B, Spice, Lady Saw, QQ, Elephant Man and Shaggy who gave a guest performance with Christopher Martin and D Major.

These women take cover under a trailer to escape from the bottles