Stampedes in musical events happen all over the world. Here is a chronological list of past world stampedes dating back as far as 27 years. In Cincinnati, 11 persons got crushed to death to get into a concert by The Who. In Masery, Lesotho, the police fired tear gas into a crowd trying to force its way into a Steve Kekanz concert. Twenty people were killed. Four people died in Mexico City when 25,000 people waiting for a performance by Timbirche, Flans and Fresas pushed their way into the concert area. In Nashville, Tennessee, two teenagers were trampled to death by a crowd departing from a Public Enemy concert and in Salt Lake City, three teenagers suffered the same fate when the audience at an AC-DC concert rushed to the stage. Eight people died when fans forced their way to get closer to Pearl Jam in an outdoor concert. A worse case happened in a Chicago nightclub in Feb. 17, 2003. Twenty-one people got killed when people stampeded to get out because someone sprayed mace.
The thing is that we must learn how to take preventive measures to avoid another Ultra tragedy. The first thing the investigators should try to establish is: What triggered the stampede at Ultra? Some say that someone cried, "Bomba! Bomba!" If true, then, we have learned that someone crying, "Bomba! Bomba!" in a crowd can do as much damage as an actual bomb threat.
So our problem is not only dealing with terrorists but in handling the way we react to terror. It can begin simply with rumor on fire that causes a paralysis of the soul and triggers the loss of our self-control. Stampede is one of the most senseless manifestations of mass hysteria. We established a world precedent with the EDSA Revolution. The Ultra stampede is a mockery of that Revolution.