News

‘Festival was not safe’

July 26, 2010 Edition 2

DUISBURG: Flags in the German city of Duisburg flew at half mast today as police probed allegations over lax safety measures at a techno festival where 19 people were killed in a stampede.

Seven foreigners, from Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Bosnia and Spain, were among those killed on Saturday at the Love Parade in the small city in western Germany. More than 340 people were injured.

Police said the victims, aged between 20 and 40, died as they scrambled to escape from a crush in a narrow, 100m tunnel that served as the only entrance. Shock turned to anger as survivors demanded explanations for why security plans could go so wrong and reports emerged that police had been warned that Duisburg was too small for the event.

At the entrance to the tunnel, where candles and a remembrance board with signatures marked the dead, there were angry messages for the organisers. – Sapa-AFP