19 people were killed and many more injured when chaotic mayhem broke out at the annual Love Parade techno festival in Germany. Panic broke out in a crowded tunnel entrance to the festival after police refused thousands of people entry fearing the crowd was too large.
A bottleneck formed in the tunnel as people continue pushing forward. Others attempted to move in the opposite direction to return to the railway station. The air began to thin and panic built as some attempted to escape – to no avail. People were trampled to death and crushed as they attempted to escape. Sixteen victims have been identified, including a Dutchman, an Australian, an Italian and one person from China.
Love Parade organiser Rainer Schaller said the Love Parade would never be held again, and that every effort would be taken to find the cause of Saturday afternoon’s tragic events.
“Words are not enough to describe the extent of the shock I feel,” Schaller said.
After the stampede an emergency meeting was called and it was decided that the festival would continue as the conclusion was that closing the festival immediately would lead to more panic and more deaths, many of the festival goers had no idea of what had just occurred at the festival
