A stampede that erupted at a concert in Guatemala left nine other people dead and at least 20 injured Thursday morning, emergency crews said. The event took place in Quetzaltenango, about 200 kilometers west of Guatemala’s capital, when the country was celebrating its Independence Day.
The concert was sponsored through a brewery and was held on land used for such events. When Guatemalan rock band Bohemia Suburbana closed the show, some spectators were crushed as some tried to leave while others entered the same venue.
Videos circulating on social media platforms show dozens of other people beating each other and viewers piled up on the ground. Screams can be heard asking other people to push as much as possible and move to the side so that those who have fallen can do so. being rescued
Additional footage shared by the Guatemalan Red Cross company and a volunteer fire organization show rescuers tending to other people injured in the stampede. In one of them, a body of emergency workers is seen on a stretcher inside an ambulance.
The Red Cross reported on Twitter that nine other people were killed at the scene. The firm said more than 20 other injured people had been stabilized. Their injuries included fractures imaginable as a result of the stampede, firefighters said, and some were taken to a nearby hospital. Reuters reported later on Thursday that six other people had been hospitalized.
Nancy Quemé, who at the concert said there were thousands of people there. “From the rain, there was a lot of mud,” he said. I think that’s why other people couldn’t move and fell. “
The formation of the bands had begun on Wednesday afternoon. He said that even in the early hours of Thursday, there were still families with children.
“They cordoned off the entire domain and left only two accesses (points),” Quemé said. “I found the tickets really small. I stood still and made the decision to leave for a few minutes before the concert was over. “
Amilcar Rivas, director of the municipality of Quetzaltenango, said the organizers of the event have no more security and crowd Array said that the event had a permit.
Quetzaltenango hosts the biggest birthday party of Guatemala’s independence moment. Thursday marks the 201st anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain.