GERMANY: Witnesses to stampede react with shock after 15 people were killed at Germany's Love Parade
Record ID:
449821
GERMANY: Witnesses to stampede react with shock after 15 people were killed at Germany's Love Parade
- Title: GERMANY: Witnesses to stampede react with shock after 15 people were killed at Germany's Love Parade
- Date: 25th July 2010
- Summary: DUISBURG, GERMANY (JULY 24, 2010) (REUTERS) HELICOPTER AMBULANCES INSIDE TUNNEL WHERE STAMPEDE TOOK PLACE HEARSE DRIVING PAST POLICE STANDING BESIDE BARRIER PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH TUNNEL (SOUNDBITE) (German) STAMPEDE WITNESS, ALEX DUEBEN, SAYING: "I was standing between the two bridges and saw that more and more people kept coming through. They walking into each other and tried to run up stairs and to climb up flood defense. It was an absolute panic situation. Nothing went forwards, nothing went backwards. We couldn't do anything." CARS BEHIND BARRIER (SOUNDBITE) (German) STAMPEDE WITNESS, ALEX DUEBEN, SAYING: "It was quite mixed. There were some who were quite hysterical and were crying. There were some who helped, who offered to help but the majority were just helpless and stood in the crowds. They couldn't do much. It was all mixed." (SOUNDBITE) (German) STAMPEDE WITNESS, ZECKE, SAYING: "It was tight, really hot and my dog tried to get into it." AMBULANCES INSIDE TUNNEL TUNNEL FROM OUTSIDE
- Embargoed: 9th August 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVAD3RKORQ9CENYRWS696BQGH5BH
- Story Text: A stampede killed at least 15 people after mass panic broke out in a tunnel at a Love Parade techno music festival in Germany on Saturday (July 24).
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, attended by 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.
"I was standing between the two bridges and saw that more and more people kept coming through. They walking into each other and tried to run up stairs and to climb up flood defense. It was an absolute panic situation. Nothing went forwards, nothing went backwards. We couldn't do anything," witness Alex Dueben, told Reuters TV.
Rescue work was hampered by the huge crowds attending one of Europe's biggest electronic music events in fine weather, officials said. People had come from around Europe to the Love Parade with most in the 18-25 age bracket.
Police in the industrial Ruhr city of Duisburg in western Germany had earlier tried to close the tunnel entrance.
Dueben said people reacted differently to the chaos.
"It was quite mixed. There were some who were quite hysterical and were crying. There were some who helped, who offered to help but the majority were just helpless and stood in the crowds. They couldn't do much. It was all mixed," he said.
Ambulances rushed to pick up victims and police set up an emergency first aid station near the entrance, where live images from WDR television showed thousands of revellers streaming out of the festival and towards the city's main train station.
At first the music blared out and people danced on, unaware of the unfolding tragedy nearby.
Police said the death toll at 1830 GMT was 15, nine women and six men, with at least 15 more injured. There were no further details immediately available about the dead.
Police tried to resuscitate people with the kiss of life. Some media reported at least 100 had been injured in the crush.
Images from the venue showed the music still playing as rescue helicopters buzzed overhead, and WDR reported mobile phone networks had failed because they were overloaded.
The annual event, now with a backdrop of electronic dance music such as House, Trance and Techno, flamboyant outfits and energetic dance moves, was first held in Berlin in 1989 as an event to promote peace through music.
Internationally, similar Love Parades have taken place in Zurich, San Francisco, Mexico City, Acapulco, Vienna, Cape Town, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Santiago, Rio de Janeiro, Oslo and Budapest. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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