The German press reflects on the causes of the tragedy of Duisburg

2012-03-22, 1:45 pm

Some police officers and rescue workers tried to
enter the tunnel, "but there were too many people," said one witness. |
Photo:Reuters
Two days after the tragedy occurred at the
Love Parade in Duisburg, the German press reflects on the circumstances
of this event. The stampede happened in a narrow tunnel, which cost
the lives of nineteen people and left more than three hundred and forty
wounded, arouses emotions and anger against those responsible for the
event.

The Love Parade, an event dedicated to electronic music created in
1989, had previously been no major incidents. Its founder, Rainer
Schaller, said Sunday that there would be no new edition of the
festival.

That first shock in Duisburg, a small town in the Ruhr, that has
captured the attention of German media. The tabloid Bild published a
series of portraits of the victims and images of the city in mourning.

Security measures have been taken it lightly? For the German press,
there is no doubt. Sunday night on its website, Der Spiegel said that
the city did not have permission to host more than 250,000
demonstrators in the absence of contingency plans and fire safety
measures inadequate. But the organizers of the Love Parade have
cataloged more than 1.4 million participants. Worse, the newspaper
accused the security forces have destroyed all documents relating to
the Love Parade, including intervention orders, reports and maps.

"GAPS IN THE ORGANIZATION"

"The profit in disregard of safety" as the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The
newspaper Bavarian town of Duisburg suspected of having increased the
prestige of hosting such an event before the conditions of security, an
attitude he described as "amateurish". "This is not a misfortune but a
tragic crime," he assured.

The local daily Ruhr Nachrichten him was met with an official of the
organization, Michael Schreckenberg: "We warned that the site was not
suitable for this type of event, but we should have insisted," laments
he. Especially in charge of security at the event Mr Schreckenberg
evokes shared fault between organizers and police forces, noting for
instance that exits supposed to allow the evacuation of the tunnel were
made inaccessible.

"Many questions, few answers" after the press conference organized by
the authorities responsible for the event - the mayor, police chief,
the chief security officer and founder of the Love Parade - Die Zeit
denounced their refusal to admit their shortcomings. So the police
chief, Detlev von Schmeling, he questioned the number of participants
given by the organizers of the festival, 1.4 million. He believes
instead the number of demonstrators at 300,000 people, and finds that
the number of police deployed about 4000, were sufficient. The Mayor
Adolf Sauerland says his side "have not been informed of all details
concerning the organization."

Voluntary error or simple negligence? Anyway, the German media seeking
responsible: the weekly Stern, known for his polemical articles, has
published a list identifying a portfolio of explanation and regret of
all the protagonists of this celebration that was a nightmare. For
Stern, the press conference organizers turned into a "conference of
panic" to officials - none of them being capable of identifying the
reasons for such poor coordination.

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The German press reflects on the causes of the tragedy of Duisburg

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