The call from a private security company was frantic: Thousands had mobbed a pedestrian overpass after a fireworks display in western Japan and lives were in danger.
Whenever someone thanks firefighter Yuta Ushuku, he can’t help recalling the stampede that killed 11 spectators at a fireworks show on a crowded footbridge in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, 20 years ago.
At least 10 people, including six children, were crushed to death as crowds left a firework display in Japan. Up to 90 others were injured, several seriously.
The incident happened in the seaside town of Akashi just after 8:30pm when the pressure of huge crowds returning from watching the fireworks caused people to fall at a pedestrian bridge.
Kazuaki Sakaki, 67, was deputy chief of the Akashi police station at the time of the stampede on a bridge thronged with people who were there to watch a night of fireworks in western Akashi city.
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