Forgot your password?
Love Parade Ends In Tragedy In Germany
BBC NEWS
July 25, 2010: Britons have spoken of their horror after witnessing a stampede at a free dance music festival in Germany that has claimed 19 lives on Saturday, July 24, 2010. One British man said he saw people die in front of his eyes during the Love Parade stampede. One Briton, Salil Bhate, described seeing people lying on the ground with "stamp marks on their faces". "The stampede reminded me of a heavy metal concert, only here, there was nobody to help," he said. "The number of people that I saw lying on the floor, but too far away, was ridiculous. They had stamp marks on their faces. It wasn't until I saw people being resuscitated that I understood how serious this was." The Briton described the behavior of the authorities at the event as "simply unbelievable". "The police and security personnel were more concerned with keeping people away from the edges, rather than helping people in," he said. Mr Bhate from Romford, Greater London had "spontaneously" decided to go to the festival while on holiday in Germany.
Alan Donaldson, another Briton described the stampede as "a nightmare" and said he would like to see some organizers sent to jail for their role in the stampede which saw about 300 people injured, dozens seriously. Describing the conditions in the crowd, he said, "There were so many people - it was way too small. "This is the first time I have seen people die and it happened in front of me. What a waste of life. "Someone needs to go for jail for this because some people died for absolutely nothing. The moment I got there, I knew it was going to be a nightmare because there were too many people and it was way too small."
The Love Parade attracts music fans from all over the world, with floats from Brazil, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia among other nations. The floats had been expected to parade through the city for 10 hours. Many top-international DJs were also due to perform.
Mark Knight, a British DJ booked to perform at the event, was shocked when he was told to continue with his set on the main stage - even though it was clear something had gone wrong. The DJ, who said he was "taken aback" when he eventually discovered the full extent of the stampede, said the organizers had been "quite adamant" that he should perform. "They had been liaising with the authorities and the stance that they had taken was that we really cannot make people aware too much of this situation for fear of more panic. So we had to keep playing, which was very odd and a surreal environment."
The DJ said only about half of the crowd appeared to be aware of the stampede and "the magnitude of the situation", which created a "very weird atmosphere". "We could see people trying to jump up over the fences and trying to get away from the entrance but we weren't aware of what actually was going on. "It was hard to take it all in but something about it just didn't seem right."
A young woman told Die Welt: "Everywhere you looked, there were people with blue faces. "My boyfriend pulled me out over the bodies; otherwise we would both have died in there. How can I ever forget those faces? The faces of the dead."
Most of the victims were trampled to death at an entrance tunnel connecting an old railway station to the parade ground. Police closed the exit to the tunnel and those trying to get in were told via loudhailer to turn around, but panic broke out.
Eyewitnesses claimed they tried to warn police before the stampede occurred that the tunnel was overcrowded, but said the authorities ignored their warnings.
"You cannot jail one million people behind fences, you need to let them walk around free, then such things do not happen," one witness told journalists.
One local resident told APTV: "Three days ago I thought the organizer was stupid because he only made one entrance point to the Love Parade. You can't lock so many people away behind a fence. That doesn't work."
Witnesses have criticized the decision to have just one entrance through a tunnel to the Love Parade and said they warned police about overcrowding.
Officials said emergency workers had difficulties reaching the injured because of the massive crowds. Police said the festival drew about 1.4 million people. The exact circumstances of the stampede are still not clear. Some participants say too many people were allowed in a confined space
The event began in Berlin in 1989 as a peace demonstration and developed into a huge open-air music festival staged four months before the fall of Berlin Wall.
The mayor of Duisburg Adolf Sauerland, where the festival took place, said a security plan had been worked out beforehand. He told a press conference that it was too early to blame anyone for the incident. Mayor Adolf Sauerland said that until the investigation was complete, any apportioning of guilt would be "out of place, out of order". "That would not serve the victims, nor would it serve the families," he said. He said 340 people had been injured. Sixteen of the dead had been identified, he added, and four of the victims were foreigners: one from the Netherlands, one from Australia, one from Italy and one from China. They ranged in age from just over 20 to 40.
"The Love Parade has always been a joyful and peaceful party, but in future would always be overshadowed by yesterday's events,” Rainer Schaller said. "Out of respect for the victims, their families and friends, we are going to discontinue the event in the future, and that means the end of the Love Parade."
Officials have launched an investigation into the disaster.
Ends
