A stampede at a hip-hop concert in an overcrowded Italian nightclub has left five teenagers dead along with an older woman who was there with her daughter. Authorities say that at least 53 people have been reported as injured, with 13 in very serious condition.
In a video broadcasted by an Italian State news agency, teenagers were seen rushing out of a door and moving toward a low wall near the exit of the Lanterna Azzurra, or Blue Lantern Disco in the town of Corinaldo in central Italy. Breaking through the barrier, bodies began to fall over, trampling and falling on top of one another.
The bodies of all the victims were found near the law according to Ancona Firefighter Cmdr. Dino Poggiali. The ages of the deceased range from 14 to 16 while the mother who was killed was 39. She was accompanying her eight-year-old daughter to the concert and leaves behind four children. The teenagers included three girls and two boys with state radio reporting that their cause of death was due to having their skulls crushed during the uproar.
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It was Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta who was scheduled to perform at the venue which holds a capacity of 870. Prosecutors say that organizers for the event oversold to a figure of 1,400 tickets and while the venue has three total rooms to accommodate the capacity of 870, they only opened up one of the rooms, which only holds 469 people. The stampede took place shortly after 1 a.m., about 30 minutes before the show was set to start.
Authorities say that concertgoers began to rush out after someone sprayed an irritant in the air. Rapper Sfera took to social media to express his condolences and remarked that he wants everyone "to stop and think how dangerous and stupid it is to use pepper spray in a discotheque.”
Teenagers were out due to the Immaculate Conception holiday in Italy in which high schools are closed. Pope Francis lead a silent prayer at the Vatican in response to the tragedy.
Currently, firefighters are still trying to determine if any safety codes were violated, noting that when rescue crews arrived all doors to the venue were open. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has vowed to find who is directly responsible for "six broken lives — whoever out of nastiness, stupidity or greed transformed an evening of partying into tragedy.”