19 Killed in Love Parade Stampede

At least 19 people were killed when panic broke out at a ‘Love Parade’ music festival in Germany. Some were trampled to death, some crushed against the walls of a tunnel, Germany mourned the deaths during a huge open air music festival.

Another 340 people were injured in the mass panic to get to the Love Parade dance party in the western city of Duisburg that drew about 1.4 million partygoers from across the world, according to a new mounting toll given by police.

Authorities have not yet given any indication as to what set off the sudden fright. But questions were immediately raised about the safety of the 200 metre (650 feet) long and 30 metre (100 feet) wide tunnel that was the main access to the giant rave being held in a former railway freight yard.

In the direct aftermath, ambulances rushed to pick up victims and police set up an emergency first aid station near the entrance, where thousands of revelers seen streaming out of the festival towards the main train station as rescue helicopters circled overhead.

The annual event 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.