The stampede at a discotheque in Italy could be due to exceeded capacity and failed security system

Six people have died and more than 100 have been injured, including 7 in very serious condition, to cause a stampede at the disco Lanterna Azzurra, in Corinaldo, province of Ancona. In the local there were more than 1,000 young people, many children, some accompanied by their parents, waiting to begin the concert Atmosphere Ebbasta, one of the most popular musicians among young people in Italy.

At one in the morning of this Saturday, someone felt some type of tear gas in the atmosphere and unleashed the chaos. The wizards tried to escape the race and many were caught up in the tumult. The dead victims were crushed in the outer part of one of the emergency exits of the enclosure. Are three girls and two boys between 14 and 16 years and a woman 39-year-old accompanied his daughter, who has survived the avalanche.

#Corinaldo (AN) #8dic, nella clip il drammatico) dei #vigilidelfuoco nella discoteca dove hanno perso la vita sei giovanissimi pic.twitter.com/b9xjMiWp1k

— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) December 8, 2018

The main hypothesis that is being studied as a trigger for the avalanche is that someone has scattered some tear gas, which caused the panic. The first research aim in addition to that it exceeded the capacity of the local. The public prosecutor of Ancona, Monica Garulli, and the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, who moved to the place, have confirmed that the tickets sold (at least 1.400) exceeded the maximum capacity of the local, that is 870 people. Conte added that the inspectors believe that was only open one of the three rooms of the nightclub and that she fit a little over 450 people. You should still remains unknown how many people exactly had in and if it failed the security of the establishment.

rush to the emergency exits

Some people who were inside have been assured that the emergency exits, at least in a first moment, were not accessible. "We ran towards the exit but found it locked, the porters told us to come back," explained a young man to the media. The chief of police of Ancona, Oreste Capocasa pointed out that the three doors were opened, after which rang the alarm in the establishment.

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The accident occurred already on the outside of the enclosure, in one of the emergency exits on the first floor, which leads onto a small ramp that crosses a moat and connects the club with the car park. The researchers and the minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, have confirmed that Jokerbet the kids are crammed in that area and that one of the railings yielded to the weight, so that some were precipitated into the moat, and fell on each other from a height of little more than a metre.

The witnesses speak of a local crowded and confirm the hypothesis of the aerosol. Several have recounted to the media the moments of panic. A worker from the emergency services who attended the disco explained that several of the guys that attended told him that a hooded man had sprayed a spray irritant from a pallet.

A young woman explained to the cameras of the Italian public television RAI how was imprisoned between people: “his legs were trapped and several guys were pulling me to take me out, but were not able to free myself”. Another teen had fallen on two people while trying to flee in a hurry. A third pointed out that in “couldn't breathe” and a father said his son had told him that “it stung the eyes and throat”.

Use of pepper spray at events attracting large crowds

it is Not the first time that a spray causes a catastrophe in Italy. There are other unfortunate precedent. In June of last year, during the Champions league final between Real Madrid and Juventus, someone sprayed pepper gas in a square in Turin, where thousands of fans watching the match on giant screens, which led to a stampede in which one person was.

In August 2017, at a concert in Modena by the same artist that played yesterday in Ancona, it happened something similar: someone released pepper spray and the public fled from the room. The rapper denounced him from the stage and appealed for calm. There were 9 wounded. At the time, the police spoke of a group of thieves who want to take advantage of the moments of confusion to commit a crime. In October of 2017 we repeated the same situation in a concert of the singer Elisa Toffoli in Turin. On that occasion, the security system worked better than in the club of Ancona and evacuated the premises in a few minutes without trigger the panic.