A CROWD OF DUTCH PARTICIPANTS IN A PUBLIC service commemorating Remembrance Day on Tuesday broke into a panic and injured more than 50 people who were trampled by the frenzy. Thousands of people were gathered in the public plaza called the Dam and were at the point of the service where there was a 2-minute moment of silence to honor the victims of war and the Holocaust. Just then a man started yelling something unintelligible and his outburst startled the people nearby. Suddenly a panic swept through the crowd and a stampede started, leaving dozens injured.
Queen Beatrix, crown prince Willem-Alexander and princess Máxima were attending the observance and their protective cordon, not knowing what was causing the disturbance, quickly hustled them off the stage. One eyewitness who was at the center of it told DutchNews:
‘I don’t think he was mentally disturbed. I think he was just drunk. He was making his way through the crowd, looking for his bike or something, a guy with a beard and sideburns. He was the only one speaking to himself saying something about ‘fiets’ (bike) and a few people asked him to shut up.’He passed so close by me that I could smell the alcohol. A minute later, when he reached the people in the front of the crowd, he screamed something. People freaked out and pulled back. We first thought that someone jumped from a building or that it was a terrorist attack. Seeing those hundreds of people pulling back towards us with such a force was really scary.’
Thousands of others thought it was scary, too and took off for points unknown. Police arrested the man along with a second man who dropped a suitcase and began running, leading one bystander to yell out, “Bomb! Bomb! Split!” adding to the rush and confusion. The drunk was later identified as a local vagrant named Adam who has been living on the street in that area for the past 18 months.
As is so often the case in these days of surveillance and home video cameras, when the panic broke out, the tape was running:
After just a few minutes, order was restored, the Royal family returned to their seats, and the observances were continued to a safe conclusion.
Hat tip: Christian L.
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