Deadly stampede at Italian nightclub

A stampede at a nightclub near the Italian city of Ancona early on Saturday killed six people and injured a further 120, media and firefighters said.

Some 1,000 people were said to have been inside the Lanterna Azzurra (Blue Lantern) nightclub in the town of Madonna del Piano on the Adriatic coast. They were attending a concert by Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta.

"The cause may have been the dispersal of a stinging substance; the young people fled and trampled over each other. Sadly, six people died and dozens are injured," the fire service said in a Twitter statement.

Those dead included five people under 18 and a mother who had accompanied her daughter to the concert, according to media reports. The disaster occurred at around 1 a.m. local time (0000 UTC).

Possible tear gas

The newspaper Corriere della Sera said the substance might have been tear gas sprayed by one of the guests. It quoted one teenager as saying that the emergency exit was blocked.

Some 10 of those injured are in a serious condition, according to local media, with many suffering severe bruising or even broken bones.

Police have opened an investigation into the causes of the incident.

tj/jlw (dpa, AFP)

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