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Ten charged over Love Parade stampede
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 13 February 2014
Ten people have been charged with negligent manslaughter in relation to the stampede that occurred at Germany’s Love Parade festival in 2010.
The festival, which was originally Berlin-based, but began travelling to different German cities each year in 2007, was taking place in Duisburg in 2010. The free event was always well attended, and though turnouts had fallen in the few years prior to 2010, it was estimated by investigators that almost half a million people had attended that year. The site’s capacity, however, was 250,000.
Despite the large number of people attending, crowds entering were funnelled through a single underpass, which quickly became crowded. On the Saturday morning of the event, there was a surge in the crowd, which caused panic in the tunnel followed by a stampede that left 21 people dead and hundreds injured.
According to Reuters, six of the event’s organisers and four city workers have been charged with negligent manslaughter and bodily harm.
Discussing the lengthy investigation into what happened at the final ever Love Parade, Duisburg prosecutor Horst Bien told reporters: “Something happened on 24 Jul 2010 that should never have happened. We weren’t looking to see who was morally or politically responsible but instead focussed only on who was criminally liable”.
If convicted, the ten people charged could serve up to five years in prison each. All deny any wrongdoing.
