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Chicago club stampede kills at least 21
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- At least 21 people were killed and 19 others critically injured when hundreds of panicked nightclub patrons rushed down a stairwell and were crushed early Monday, police said.
"There was a disturbance or altercation in the bar in which pepper spray or Mace may have been used -- some sort of stampede occurred," said Police Officer Ozzie Rodriguez.
At least 11 people were being treated for less serious injuries.
There were between 500 and 1,000 people inside the Epitome Nightclub, according to Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Will Knight.
Many of the victims were trampled or crushed as they rushed to the club's exits.
"They were all coming out the front door," Knight told CNN Radio. "Our firefighters had to cut the door open from the rear of the building."
Knight said the area was being treated as a crime scene.
Survivors told horror stories. "Everybody smashed; people crying, couldn't breathe," patron Reggie Clark told The Associated Press. "Two ladies next to me died. A guy under me passed out."
Cory Thomas, 33, said he was waiting outside the club with friends when the stampede occurred, according to the AP.
"You could see a mound of people," Thomas told the AP. "People were stacking on top of each other, screaming and gagging, I guess from the pepper spray. The door got blocked because there were too many people stacked up against it.
"I saw them taking out a pregnant woman," Thomas said. "She was in bad shape. I saw at least 10 lifeless bodies."
Some club patrons opened doors and went into broom closets. Apparently there was only one way down from the second level to the first, contributing to the problem.
Firefighters had to pull trampled bodies out of stairwells.
"They're stuck in the hallway. They literally can't move," a panicked patron told police.
"She's not breathing. She's not breathing," a man called to medics as he helped load the limp body of a woman into the back of an ambulance.
The incident began around 3 a.m. CST (4 a.m. EST). The nightclub is at 24th Street and South Michigan Avenue.
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- At least 21 people were killed and 19 others critically injured when hundreds of panicked nightclub patrons rushed down a stairwell and were crushed early Monday, police said.
"There was a disturbance or altercation in the bar in which pepper spray or Mace may have been used -- some sort of stampede occurred," said Police Officer Ozzie Rodriguez.
At least 11 people were being treated for less serious injuries.
There were between 500 and 1,000 people inside the Epitome Nightclub, according to Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Will Knight.
Many of the victims were trampled or crushed as they rushed to the club's exits.
"They were all coming out the front door," Knight told CNN Radio. "Our firefighters had to cut the door open from the rear of the building."
Knight said the area was being treated as a crime scene.
Survivors told horror stories. "Everybody smashed; people crying, couldn't breathe," patron Reggie Clark told The Associated Press. "Two ladies next to me died. A guy under me passed out."
Cory Thomas, 33, said he was waiting outside the club with friends when the stampede occurred, according to the AP.
"You could see a mound of people," Thomas told the AP. "People were stacking on top of each other, screaming and gagging, I guess from the pepper spray. The door got blocked because there were too many people stacked up against it.
"I saw them taking out a pregnant woman," Thomas said. "She was in bad shape. I saw at least 10 lifeless bodies."
Some club patrons opened doors and went into broom closets. Apparently there was only one way down from the second level to the first, contributing to the problem.
Firefighters had to pull trampled bodies out of stairwells.
"They're stuck in the hallway. They literally can't move," a panicked patron told police.
"She's not breathing. She's not breathing," a man called to medics as he helped load the limp body of a woman into the back of an ambulance.
The incident began around 3 a.m. CST (4 a.m. EST). The nightclub is at 24th Street and South Michigan Avenue.
