Influx of gatecrashers may have triggered Halloween party tragedy, say police
Capacity at Madrid Arena had been “excessively surpassed,” states report
A large influx of people who jumped the turnstiles at the Madrid Arena to watch superstar DJ Steve Aoki may have been the cause of the stampede at a Halloween night party that left four youngsters dead and one seriously injured, police have said.
"Moments before the fatal outcome took place, an undetermined but very significant number of people who were drinking outdoors, jumping the turnstiles and without entrance tickets, took the venue by storm, coinciding with the start of the performance of the star DJ of the evening," reads a statement issued by the Madrid High Court (TSJM) in reference to the police report on the incident.
The report only specifies that the capacity of the venue was "excessively surpassed," saying that it is "impossible to determine" a concrete number at this time.
The investigating judge in the case is set to inspect the scene next week in order to try to clarify how events might have played out, the TSJM announced. He will be accompanied by a representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office, state security forces and three policemen who attended the party off-duty and witnessed what happened
The police are set to carry out a "serious study" to confirm if capacity had been exceeded at last Thursday's Halloween party at the Madrid Arena in which Cristina Arce, Katia Esteban, Rocío Oña, all 18, and Belén Langdon, 17, died after being crushed by the crowd in one of the venue's passageways. A fifth girl, María Teresa Alonso, 20, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The company that organized the Thriller Music Park event, Diviertt, said it had sold 7,000 tickets, while Madrid City Hall put the number at 9,600 the day after the tragedy.
The Madrid Arena has a capacity of 10,600 but one of the witnesses questioned by police talked of around 20,000 attendees, said the chief public prosecutor for Madrid, Eduardo Esteban Rincón.
The police report confirms the first hypotheses that hundreds gatecrashed the event and that a massive onrush of people into the central dance floor to watch headline act Steve Aoki may have caused the crush.
