The end of the Love Parade – organiser draws consequences from the tunnel disaster

After the tragic incidents at Duisburg’s Love Parade, organiser Rainer Schaller officially declared the end of the Love Parade during a press conference. "Words are not enough to explain the extent of my dismay and shock", he said. "Clearly, I'm very concerned to fully clarify the incidents“. City and police representatives assure a speedy clarification of the mass panic that led to 20 dead and 511 injured.

According to the Assistant Chief of Police, Detlef von Schmeling, all deceased were found in the area of the western ramp - "none of these people died in the tunnel". People from the Netherlands, Australia, Italy and China are among the dead.

105,000 ravers arrived by train

None of the involved parties wanted to give exact visitor numbers: von Schmeling has not yet confirmed the number stated by the organiser (1.4 million), but points at the feed of people through Deutsche Bahn: „105,000 people arrived by train between 9am and 2pm.“What exactly led to the traffic jam near the ramp is part of the judicial inquiry and thus not object of this press conference”, Schmeling clarified. Rainer Schaller added: The event area was bigger than the one provided in Dortmund in 2008; one had provided safety concepts which had been approved.

Refusals and ignorance

The only entrance to the festival site was the tunnel, measuring 100 meters (length) by 16 meters (width). When confronted with the question why only one entrance/exit path was provided for such a huge event, head of the crisis committee, Wolfgang Rabe, mentioned "a sophisticated system to open additional emergency exit paths if needed.“ This system had been inspected by all authorities involved. Yet it remains unclear why there had not been several entrance gates provided in the first place. Refusals and ignorance became obvious at the press conference regarding this matter – one continued to point at the judicial investigation.

Our sincere condolences go out to all victims and their families.

2010LAB.tv staff

Related links:

• 19 killed in mass panic at Germany’s Love Parade

Further links:

• Timeline of the Love Parade tragedy (Deutsche Welle)
  
• Love Parade tragedy: 'I'll never forget the sight of all those twisted bodies' (Independent)
• Grim Questions Follow German Stampede (New York Times)