...

Three dead in mass panic in Budapest disco

Other News Materials 16 January 2011 12:28 (UTC +04:00)
Budapest investigators began Sunday to try to determine the cause of a panic at a popular local disco in which three girls were trampled to death in a stampede.
Three dead in mass panic in Budapest disco

Budapest investigators began Sunday to try to determine the cause of a panic at a popular local disco in which three girls were trampled to death in a stampede.

In the stampede, hundreds of disco visitors sought to escape through the narrow exits.

Hungarian rescue teams said that aside from the three dead, however, there were no other injuries.

Police, after initial investigations, ruled out a fistfight as the cause of the stampede, contrary to earlier accounts.

The West Balkan is one of Budapest's most popular party spots, spread over several floors of a building.

Police were focusing their inquiry on the question of whether the disco operators had allowed in too many people in a violation of safety regulations, and whether there was a sufficient number of escape routes.

Eyewitnesses had told the internet site index.hu of an enormous crowd pushing its way into the entrance and the cloakroom areas.

After the stampede, with police sealing off the building, hundreds of young people had to spend the night waiting at Budapest's nearby west train station. In fleeing the building they had left behind their coats and jacks containing the keys to their homes and cars, dpa reported.

Latest

Latest