The Love Parade in Germany, which resulted in 19 people being crushed to death after a stampede broke out, will never take place again, organisers said. An investigation into the causes of the deaths has been launched.
Love Parade was celebrating its 21st birthday and this year took place in the city of Duisburg. However what should have been a sun-soaked techno party turned into a nightmare when overcrowding and poor planning led to a stampede that killed 19 and injured more than 340 others.
The organisers of Love Parade were accused yesterday of seriously miscalculating the size of crowds and for rejecting a police security plan drawn up in advance because it was too expensive.
Here’s what happened during this year’s Love Parade disaster
– At 4pm the Love Parade grounds were closed due to overcrowding. One million people were already inside.
– Within minutes, thousands of people gathered outside, trying to make their down a ramp around 50m (164ft) wide and under a 100m-long bridge.
– Just before 5pm, loudspeaker announcements began urging partygoers to turn around and go home.
– With all other roads blocked, and crowds squeezed into a small space, police said around a dozen people scaled a barrier to climb a metal staircase on the ramp, only to fall back down into the crowd, triggering the panic.
– A stampede began as people are crushed trying to flee in any direction.
“At some point we were all just carried along by the mass of people, some went down and were trampled,” said 21-year-old Mohammad Runo.
“I saw dead people in the tunnel, others alive but unconscious on the ground. Others were crying,” said Anneke Kuypers, 18, of New Zealand.
Salil Bhate, from Essex, said: “It wasn’t until I saw people being resuscitated that I understood how serious this was. The number of people I saw lying on the floor was ridiculous. They had stamp marks on their faces.”
Menawhile, DJs continued to play and many partied on unaware of what had happened. Organisers defended their decision, saying they hadn’t wanted to cause further panic.
Australian, Clancie Ridley, 27, who died in the crush sent a final heartbreaking text to her friend: “Mwa – off to the Love Parade. Woo hoo miss your head.”
Yesterday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid her respects to the dead and a criminal investigation was launched into what happened.
Tags: Love Parade 2010, LoveParade, Love Parade disaster, stampede, crush, deaths
