Fatal Stampede in Venezuela

The El Paraíso stampede was a stampede of more than 500 people that occurred in the early-morning hours of 16 June 2018 at the El Paraíso Social Club, also known as Los Cotorros Club, in the El Paraíso urbanization in Caracas, Venezuela. The stampede was the result of a tear gas canister being detonated during a brawl between a group of students from different schools celebrating their proms. According to official police reports, the deaths were caused by asphyxia and polytrauma.

Background

In Venezuela, tear gas is strictly prohibited except for use by the police and military. In the past, media opposed to the government, such as El Nacional and Globovisión, have been the targets of tear gas attacks at their headquarters. Pro-government groups, known as colectivos, have also been known to attack the opposition, once tear-gassing the Vatican envoy in 2009 after President Hugo Chávez accused the Roman Catholic Church of interfering with his government. News articles have reported that several of the devices and weapons are obtained by civilians through means of theft and by police or military corruption and that such items are used frequently by criminals.

In 2018, there were several reports of tear gas incidents without fatalities. In February 2018, tear gas was released in Caracas Metro stations on three occasions that authorities labeled as "acts of sabotage" to generate anxiety. A canister was dispersed in Plaza Venezuela, a transfer station for the system's main lines, and days later, another one was used in Petare, a poor area in east Caracas. On 19 February 2018, a canister was detonated in Capuchinos station , in west Caracas.

Stampede

During the night of Friday, 15 June 2018, about 500 students gathered in Los Cotorros Club at a "pre-graduation" event called The Legacy. The nightclub was a two-story brick building that had barred windows and doors and that was known to be a scene of violence in the past. The event had been planned for some time and was created for people over the age of 18, though advertisements stated that minors could enter for an additional fee.

According to one of the survivors, at 1:20 am VET a group of young people left the bathroom arguing, throwing punches and kicks. Some of them smashed bottles that they had in their hands and threatened their opponents with them. Partygoers nearby backed away from the scene while one party involved in the argument ran towards the nightclub's staircase, threw a tear gas canister and fled the building, causing a panic among the hundreds of attendees who sought to evade the tear gas.

The entrance and exit to the club was a small, metal door located at the bottom of a set of stairs. This exit was closed, preventing the people from escaping the nightclub. Family members of the victims corroborated that the doors of the nightclub were closed after the tear gas canister was released, though no official statements were released regarding this. Despite several attempts to call 9-1-1, as of 2:30 am VET no emergency services had arrived. Around 2:40 am VET, a CICPC patrol finally arrived at the scene, drawing his gun and shouting, though he later began to aid with the evacuation of the club.

Victims

The initial information was published informally through statements by the Bolivarian National Police, the Bolivarian National Guard, and the CICPC; the death tolls varied between each agency. The National Guard specified that the teenagers died while they were being transported to health centers: eleven in the Miguel Pérez Carreño Hospital, three in the El Paraíso Popular Clinic, two in the Amay Clinic and one in the Loira Clinic. Nazareth Duque, one of the survivors, said that three National Guardsmen were in the entrance of the nightclub, refused to help her and hit her in the face. According to Duque, more than thirty people died; one of the mothers of the victims estimated a toll of 34 deaths.

Aftermath

Asphyxiation was the cause of death for 11 of 17 fatalities that occurred during the stampede. As a result of shortages in Venezuela, family members stated that there were no medical supplies at area hospitals to treat victims of the stampede.

According to Interior Minister Néstor Reverol, eight people were detained, which included two minors, with one of the minors being responsible for the tear gas attack. The club was also closed by the Public Ministry to start the investigations and its owner was arrested for not guaranteeing an adequate review of the assistants and after violating laws that prohibited the entrance of weapons to public establishments. Questions were raised on how a minor was granted access to tear gas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Para%C3%ADso_stampede