GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least nine people died and 20 others were injured early Thursday in a stampede after an independence day concert in Guatemala, rescue workers said.
“The Guatemalan Red Cross and volunteer firefighters stabilized more than 20 injured people and nine people died at the scene” in the western city of Quetzaltenango, the relief agency said on Twitter.
Local press reported that the victims were crushed as thousands of people tried to leave an open-air esplanade at the end of a concert during the traditional “Xelafer” festival, about 200 kilometers west of Guatemala City.
People attending the event “didn’t even realise people were being crushed because it was already dark,” resident Monica Gonzalez said.
Another witness, Luis Carrion, said he saw people being pushed and falling to the floor before they were trampled by people leaving the venue.
Red Cross spokesperson Andres Lemus said the injured were taken to local hospitals.
Public ministry spokesperson Moises Ortiz said that prosecutors had begun gathering information for an investigation, while the national forensic sciences institute had activated four morgues to carry out autopsies.
It was the first time in three years that Guatemala celebrated its independence from Spain after the previous two years’ festivities were called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Guatemala gained independence from former colonial power Spain on Sept 15, 1821. — NNN-AGENCIES
