18 killed in stampede at German music fest

July 25, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

DUISBURG, Germany

Crowds of people streaming into a techno-music festival surged through an already jammed entry tunnel Saturday, setting off a panic that killed 18 people and injured 80 at an event meant to celebrate love and peace.

The circumstances of the stampede at the famed Love Parade festival in Duisburg in western Germany still were not clear hours after the chaos, but it appeared that some or most of the 18 had been crushed to death.

Authorities also suggested that some of the people killed or injured might have attempted to flee the crowd by jumping over a barrier and falling several yards. Witnesses described a desperate scene, as people piled up on one another or scrambled over others who had fallen in the crush.

“The young people came to celebrate, and instead, there are dead and injured,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel. “I am horrified by the suffering and the pain.”

Criticism quickly fell on city officials for allowing only one entrance to the grounds of a hugely popular event that drew hundreds of thousands of people to dance, watch floats and listen to DJs spin. German media said 1.4 million people attended, but that figure could not be confirmed immediately.

The founder of the Love Parade, Matthias Roeingh, known by the name Dr. Motte, blasted the planning for the event, saying “one single entrance through a tunnel lends itself to disaster. I am very sad.”

City officials chose not to evacuate the site, fearing it might spark more panic.

Emergency workers had trouble getting to the victims, hampered by the huge crowds. The area was a hectic scene, with bodies lying on the ground and people milling around or attending to them. Rescue workers carried away the injured as techno music thundered in the background.

Local media reported that the cell-phone system in Duisburg broke down temporarily, and frantic parents trying to reach their children instead drove to the scene to look for them.

However, most streets downtown were blocked by police. Several media outlets reported that rescue helicopters had problems taking away the heavily injured because there was not enough space for them to land.