June 5 – The city of Turin is recovering not only from Juventus’ heartbreaking Champions League defeat on Saturday but also from a terrifying incident in the city centre where more than 1,500 people were injured after what appeared to be a firecracker – mistaken for an explosion – provoked a stampede.
Thousands had gathered in Piazza San Carlo to watch Juve play Real Madrid on giant TV screens but during the second half, a violent surge flung fans against barriers while many were trampled as they attempted to leave the area.
Bags and shoes were left scattered on the ground as terrified fans ran screaming out of the square.
“I heard an explosion, which must have been a huge firecracker,” one witness told La Stampa. However, another suggested it may have been the result of a security barrier falling over.
One of the fans, who was caught next to the barriers, said: “I felt I was being lifted up. It was terrible.”
Although initially police said 200 people needed hospital treatment, the Italian news agency Ansa later put the figure at 1,527. Most of the injured were treated for cuts, but three, including a seven-year-old boy, were reportedly in a serious condition.
“The root cause of this was panic,” said local official Renato Saccone. “We’ll have to wait a while to understand what triggered it.”
For some Juventus fans, the incident brought back traumatic memories of the 1985 Heysel stadium disaster, where 39 people, most of them Italian, died after being crushed against a wall that then collapsed before the European Cup final against Liverpool.
In a statement, local authorities said the crowd “was seized by panic and by the psychosis of a terror attack.”
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