At least three women have died following a Steve Aoki performance in Madrid last night while two more victims remain hospitalized in critical condition. Reports suggest the deaths were a result of over-crowding.
The deaths occurred at the Thriller Music Park Halloween party held at the Madrid Arena. According to Spin, the venue reported that entry was admitted for 10,600 out of the 12,000 person capacity however many complained of overcrowding via social media.
Spin also explains that “around 4 A.M., roughly 50 medical personnel were called to the scene to respond to two victims who were unconscious and in cardiac arrest; when they arrived, they found five people in distress. El País reports that their injuries were due to “trauma by crushing, possibly having suffered a fall and being trampled.” Two of the victims were treated on site and declared dead after 30 minutes of attempted resuscitation; a third died shortly upon arrival at a local hospital.
The incident is still under investigation by police, but signs suggest a disturbance in the audience that led to a stampede; it is believed that a flare was set off, triggering a panic in the venue which was made worse by several of the exits being blocked or inaccessible.
Following the traumatic incident, Steve Aoki made a statement on his website, saying:
“After my performance last night at Thriller Music Park at the Madrid Arena in Spain, I was devastated to hear that three people had died during a crowd rush at one of the exits. The safety of my fans has always been my top priority and had I known that there was any distress putting people in jeopardy within the venue I would have ended my show immediately. My show in Bilbao, Spain tonight will be cancelled out of respect for those who lost their lives and those who are injured. I would like to express my deepest condolences and heart felt prayers to the families and loved ones during this difficult time.”
For more, head over to Prefix.
Leave a Comment