Letter.

Letter Published in The National UAE on 10Dec 18

Lessons must be learned from Italian nightclub tragedy

I write in reference to your article Italy nightclub stampede kills six and injures more than 50 (December 9): The National’s coverage of the stampede in the Italian nightclub was sad to read. Among the ­casualties were three girls, two boys and one woman, police have revealed. The cause of the incident might have been the use of pepper spray by someone inside the club, creating panic which caused a stampede. But this has not been confirmed yet. We also do not know why one emergency exit had been blocked, which exacerbated the tragedy.

This incident has rightly attracted global attention; several nightclubs across the world have also witnessed similar incidents while hosting major concerts. Precautionary measures are clearly needed to ensure they do not happen again, and safety should be the main priority. I trust Italian authorities will look into the causes of this awful event and take steps to address it. In the meantime, I pray for the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the many who were injured.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru