These Shocking Tales of Human Stampedes Ended in Tragedy

These Shocking Tales of Human Stampedes Ended in Tragedy

Shannon Quinn - December 22, 2022

These Shocking Tales of Human Stampedes Ended in Tragedy
The Memorial to those who perished in the disaster at Hillsborough Stadium. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Hillsborough Disaster

On April 15, 1989, football clubs Liverpool and Nottingham Forest were playing against one another at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Before the game started, there was a huge crowd waiting outside of the turnstiles to get into the stadium. A police officer named David Duckenfield was trying to ease the crowd, so he ordered exit gate C to open. This accidentally had the opposite effect, because people began to crowd towards gate C, and it resulted in the human crush. A total of 97 fatalities and 766 injuries means that the Hillsborough Disaster has the highest death toll in British sporting history. This was considered an “accidental death”, but the families of the victims spent the next few decades trying to prosecute those responsible. In June 2017, six people were charged with offenses including manslaughter and misconduct.

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