GERMANY: North Rhine Westphalia State Premiere Hanelore Kraft reacts to stampede which killed 15 at Love Parade in Duisburg
Record ID:
219317
GERMANY: North Rhine Westphalia State Premiere Hanelore Kraft reacts to stampede which killed 15 at Love Parade in Duisburg
- Title: GERMANY: North Rhine Westphalia State Premiere Hanelore Kraft reacts to stampede which killed 15 at Love Parade in Duisburg
- Date: 25th July 2010
- Summary: DUISBURG, GERMANY (JULY 24, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF HOSPITAL WHERE MOST OF THE INJURED WERE TAKEN VARIOUS OF SURGEON AT BETHESDA JOHANNITER HOSPITAL IN DUISBURG, DIETMAR SIMON, TALKING TO DOCTORS AND NURSES (SOUNDBITE) (German) SURGEON AT BETHESDA JOHANNITER HOSPITAL IN DUISBURG, DIETMAR SIMON, SAYING: "This is the Bethesda hospital. It is very close to the event, some 500 metres away so we have a lot of patients here. Some 170 patients have already been treated here today, the majority as outpatients and a lot of patients for surgery. We have admitted around 25 people, seven of them are severely injured, some extremely seriously, especially one 22-year-old lady. We don't know if she will survive." HOSPITAL BEDS (SOUNDBITE) (German) SURGEON AT BETHESDA JOHANNITER HOSPITAL IN DUISBURG, DIETMAR SIMON, SAYING: "We expect a lot more patients tonight because the situation there seems difficult. At the train station there are more problems. I think it's going to be a long night for us." HOSPITAL BEDS (SOUNDBITE) (German) SURGEON AT BETHESDA JOHANNITER HOSPITAL IN DUISBURG, DIETMAR SIMON, SAYING: "It was a mass panic. The people choked, were trampled on. We received two patients here who arrived and had to be resuscitated. They probably choked and didn't get enough oxygen and are now seriously ill. Of course, adding to this is an intoxication of drugs and alcohol, but we still don't know that for sure." VARIOUS OF DOCTORS AND NURSES (SOUNDBITE) (German) STATE PREMIER OF NORTH RHINE WESTPHALIA, HANELORE KRAFT, SAYING: "The last I heard was that there were 17 young people killed today at this event and 80 people were injured. This is a dramatic number for Duisburg, for the Love Parade for the project Ruhr 2010. I would like to pass on my condolences to the families of these young people. Some of them are still just children. I have spoken to some of them who were there who are really stunned and really shocked. The picture there must be really horrible." KRAFT BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (German) STATE PREMIER OF NORTH RHINE WESTPHALIA, HANELORE KRAFT, SAYING: "This all has to be looked at properly, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions. The fact is that there was a bottleneck and they knew about it. It should have been organised. It will now have to be looked into to find out exactly what happened. We will surely need a few hours and days for this." KRAFT'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (German) STATE PREMIER OF NORTH RHINE WESTPHALIA, HANELORE KRAFT, SAYING: "There are still a lot of seriously injured people, so we are praying for those who are still in hospital." KRAFT BEING INTERVIEWED
- Embargoed: 9th August 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA13MS0WW9IWO0G6J7B2O0EP9MX
- Story Text: The head of the German State of North Rhine Westphalia visited on Saturday (July 24) the site where 15 people were killed during a stampede at Germany's Love Parade festival in the western city of Duisburg.
Hanelore Kraft passed on her condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
"I would like to pass on my condolences to the families of these young people. Some of them are still just children. I have spoken to some of them who were there who are really stunned and really shocked. The picture there must be really horrible," she told Reuters TV.
"This all has to be looked at properly, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions. The fact is that there was a bottleneck and they knew about it. It should have been organised. It will now have to be looked into to find out exactly what happened. We will surely need a few hours and days for this," she added.
Meanwhile doctors at a nearby hospital prepared for a long night.
"This is the Bethesda hospital. It is very close to the event, some 500 metres away so we have a lot of patients here. Some 170 patients have already been treated here today, the majority as outpatients and a lot of patients for surgery. We have admitted around 25 people, seven of them are severely injured, some extremely seriously, especially one 22-year-old lady. We don't know if she will survive," said Dietmar Simon, a Surgeon at the Bethesda Johanniter Hospital in Duisburg.
Overcrowding at the entrance tunnel to a former freight rail station, where the event was being held, sparked the stampede and then a crush among the mainly young festival-goers.
The festival, which drew about 1.4 million people, was not immediately cancelled because authorities feared that could spark a second panic and more chaos at the crowded venue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None