The Love Parade death toll rose by one to 21 today as Germans, who cherish order and organisation, struggled to understand how such a tragedy could happen in their tightly regulated country.
A 25-year-old woman died from injuries suffered four days ago in the stampede at the Love Parade, when hordes of young people pushed through a tunnel into the techno festival area at a former freight rail yard in Duisburg.
Police have said local officials ignored warnings that Duisburg would be too small to host one million people at the Love Parade, while the organisers blamed police for letting too many into the railyard.
"This tragedy is deeply upsetting for people across Germany," said German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm. "This is going to have far-reaching ramifications."
Chancellor Angela Merkel will interrupt her summer holiday to attend a memorial service on Saturday in Duisburg.
A top police official in North Rhine-Westphalia, Dieter Wehe, nearly broke down in tears at a news conference today when he told journalists the victims suffocated.
Accustomed to a high degree of efficiency and organisation, Germans have been dumbfounded by the Love Parade chaos and media reports that city officials and organisers did not heed warnings that Duisburg would struggle to cope with such a massive event.
Reuters