A week after the tragic crowd crush in Seoul that claimed over 150 lives, an incident happened in Indonesia at a concert.
K-pop band NCT 127 had to end their concert early due to a crush, but on a smaller scale. Around 30 fans fainted, and authorities had to transport them to the hospital.
Despite the incident, the band’s second day of concerts proceeded as planned.
Concert organisers added more security personnel and paramedics as a precaution.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that the incident occurred on 4 Nov, during NCT 127’s concert near the capital of Jakarta.
The event had been going on for two hours when the band began handing out freebies to concertgoers, a 19-year-old attendee said.
This caused fans to surge towards the stage, those in the back pushing until the barricade fences collapsed.
Police spokesperson Endra Zulpan said 30 people fainted as a result of the crowd crush.
“To prevent other incidents, we decided to stop the concert at 9.20pm,” Endra said, adding that the affected fans have recovered.
Footage of the incident has gone viral on social media, depicting the severity of the crush.
In the video, the bandmates can be seen throwing freebies to the fans right before the fences collapse.
Another clip showed them urging the concertgoers to step back and avoid the crowd crush.
According to The Jakarta Post, there was also a bomb threat at the venue before the incident.
A handwritten note had circulated on social media, reading, “ICE BSD Nov. 4 S.O.S. 11 people 3 cars [with explosives] TNT, TATP.”
Police investigators conducted an investigation, but found no explosive materials or suspicious items. They have also identified the person responsible for the threat, and will question him thoroughly.
The second day of the concert proceeded as scheduled on 5 Nov.
However, CNA reports that police banned the distribution of freebies to fans and demanded stricter measures to prevent a repeat incident.
Concert organiser Dyandra Global Edutainment confirmed this via an Instagram post. They also said they would add more paramedics and security personnel for the show.
In addition, they apologised to fans for their concert experience, urging those attending on 5 Nov to adhere to safety measures.
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Featured image adapted from Twitter.
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