Recently, a stampede accident in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea has killed 153 people and injured more than 100 people to varying degrees. It is the worst stampede in South Korea's history. The tragic scenes in the accident shocked the whole world.
Korean accident scene
The stampede incident has always been unprepared for, and the tragedy caused is also heartbreaking. Today, let us learn about the top ten stampede accidents in the world, and the alarm bells keep ringing to avoid the tragedy again!
1. The Iroquois Theater Fire in 1903
On November 23, 1903, a theater called Iroquois opened a brand new opening on Sirandolph Street in Chicago, USA.
The spotlight that was performing at the time was short-circuited, and the sparks caused ignited the gauze curtains, causing a fire in an instant.
The fire finally ignited the landscape canvas and it was out of control. Everyone at the scene saw that the fire was out of control and fell into panic, rushing to avoid it.
The fire spread throughout the theater, with the fire, chaos, and a ball of darkness, and the people in the theater were in a desperate situation. Hundreds of people were trampled, crushed and suffocated in front of the iron fence. There are many others trapped in the dead end, or in front of decorations similar to windows.
Afterwards, rescuers found more than 575 people dead at the scene, most of whom died of suffocation and stampedeship. In the next few weeks, another 30 people died from injuries, with a total of at least 605 deaths.
2. Stampage incident of the Big Pot Festival in 1954
The Big Pot Festival in India is also known as the Holy Water Bathing Festival. It is the largest religious Hindu gathering in the world and one of the most participants in the world.
Big Pot Festival
Big Pot Festival is held every 6 years in Allahabad , and lasts for 6 weeks. Each time up to 70 million believers come to participate in this festival. Millions of believers went to the intersection of the two holy rivers, Ganges and Yamuna River and , to bathe and clean themselves on the occasion of the festival.
Due to the excessive number of pilgrims, almost every "Big Pot Festival" will have a tragedy in which pilgrims are tragic to death.
Believers who bathed and cleaned their bodies
Especially during the "Big Pot Festival" in 1954, a serious stampede accident occurred, and nearly a thousand people unfortunately died.
III. Pilgrimage stampede incident in 1990
The Sharia Law stipulates that every adult Islamic believer should go to Mecca, Saudi Arabia at least once in his life if he is capable.
Islamic pilgrimage
A large number of believers have also caused a large number of stampede accidents! In recent decades, there have been stampedes in Mecca , the holy land of Islam, and according to past reports, there have been 11 stampedes in Mecca between 1990 and 2006.
The most serious one was in July 1990. In the Saudi Arabia al-Maissem tunnel near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, 1426 pilgrims died in the end of the most important festival of Islamic Eid al-Adha.
IV. The stampede of the Jamara Bridge in 2004
Also in Mecca, in 2004, another stampede occurred on the Jamara Bridge, with 250 pilgrims dead. The obstruction of personal belongings caused the crowd to retreat, and when the pilgrims tried to bypass it, stampede accidents began.
Bridge after the accident
After the accident, the design of the bridge adopted a variety of safety measures. However, in 2006, another stampede occurred, killing 380 people!
5. The stampede in Accra Stadium in 2001
In May 2001, when Ghana police fired tear gas to disperse riot football fans, a stampede in Accra's main stadium, resulting in 126 deaths. This is the most tragic football disaster in African football history.
6. Rhode Island nightclub fire in 2003
In February 2003, a fire broke out in a nightclub in Rhode Island, USA during a live performance, killing about 100 people and injuring nearly 200 people.
7. Phnom Penh stampede incident in 2010
November 22, 2010 is the last day of the three-day traditional water delivery festival . At that time, about 3 million people from all over the country flocked to Phnom Penh to watch the dragon boat competition held on the Tonlesa River in front of the palace and the celebrations in Diamond Island and other places. At around 23:00 local time on the 22nd, due to too many tourists, a bridge connecting Diamond Island in the downtown area of Phnom Penh shaking, causing panic, resulting in mutual crowding stampede accidents, with the death toll reached 375 and 755 injured.
The bridge after the accident
According to an eyewitness who arrived at the scene after the stampede, "people's bodies were stacked up."
8. The stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia in 2015
On September 24, 2015, a stampede in Hajj, 5 kilometers east of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, killing at least 1,399 people and injuring more than 2,000 people.
And 13 days ago, on September 11, 2015, a stampede occurred in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A crane boom crash in the Grand Mosque killed at least 100 people and injured about 300 people.
9. The stampede on the Baghdad Bridge in 2005
The stampede on the Baghdad in Iraq is the worst casualties in the country since the outbreak of the Iraq War .
When the accident occurred, thousands of people were heading to a mosque in the north of Baghdad to participate in an important religious celebration. When passing through a bridge on Tigris River, suddenly there were rumors of suicide attacks, and people jumped into the river, causing major casualties.
841 people have been confirmed to be killed and more than 300 others were injured. Iraqi Ministry of Health officials said more than 1,000 people may die in the tragic accident. The place where the tragedy occurred is two kilometers away from the Imam Kadim Mosque, the place of worship.
10. The tragedy of Hillsborough in the UK
On April 15, 1989, in the Liverpool semi-finals against Nottingham Forest held at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, due to the structural problems of the stadium and the chaos in the organizational order, 5,000 fans of Liverpool failed to enter the stadium after the start of the game. The police opened the door but did not give necessary guidance, causing 5,000 people to flock to the same stands, and the crowding caused serious stampede casualties, 96 people were killed and more than 200 were injured.
Among the 96 victims were elderly people over 70 years old, and a child who had just turned 10 years old.
Throughout history, the main reason for most stampede accidents is that under specific scenarios, such as pilgrimage or festivals, excessive people gather in a certain space, and the crowd is prone to being too excited and riots. Some people fall in front, but people behind do not pay attention and stop, resulting in stampede!
Learn from history and learn from experience and lessons. I hope this kind of tragedy will not happen again!
