People injured and ‘carried out on stretchers’ after ‘stampede’ at family-friendly London festival when ‘too many people’ turned up
Multiple people have been injured and carried out on stretchers after a ‘stampede’ at a family-friendly festival in north London as too many people turned up.
The organisers of Ghana Party in the Park were forced to end the event ‘abruptly’ at Copthall Playing Fields in Barnet on Saturday after it became ‘overcrowded’.
Several festivalgoers suffered ‘non-life threatening injuries’ following the crush, and footage from the event shows dozens of emergency vehicles, including air ambulances, were in attendance.
Witnesses saw injured people being carried from the grounds on stretchers by medics.
One 18-year-old described the incident as ‘very chaotic’, adding that the festival was ‘very poorly organised’.
Another said: ‘Ghana Party in the Park, aka ShattaFest, has had a stampede, with people seriously injured.
‘Two air ambulances [helicopters] have flown in to take some of the injured away.
‘People have been unable to get into the event since 2pm. There are probably 1,000 people outside right now.’
Multiple people were left with non-life threatening injuries after a ‘stampede’ due to overcrowding
Witnesses saw injured people being carried away on stretchers as medics attended the scene
Ghana Party in the Park is an annual outdoor festival for the Ghanaian diaspora in London which has been running since 2005.
It attracts more than 8,000 people, according to the London Assembly website, making it the largest Ghanaian event outside of Ghana.
The event’s website describes it as a ‘cultural festival celebrating the very best of Ghanaian music, culture, food, fashion and community’.
In a statement on Saturday night, organisers said: ‘Following the unfortunate incident at today’s event, we wish to provide an update regarding the abrupt closure of Ghana in the Park.
‘The decision to close the festival was made solely on the grounds of health and safety.
‘Officers from the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade responded to a major incident on site.
‘Following discussions with the emergency services and our health and safety team, it was agreed that closing the festival was the safest option in order to protect all attendees.’
The statement came amid claims that there had been stabbings at the festival, however the organisers said nobody was attacked.
They added: ‘We would like to clarify that there were no incidents of stabbing and deaths as being speculated.’
Earlier the organisers had said the event was ‘temporarily paused’ due to a ‘major incident’ and asked festivalgoers to ‘stay away from the area’.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘Officers are at Copthall Playing Fields, where Ghana Party in the Park has been cancelled after an overcrowding issue at the entrance, saw several people sustain non-life threatening injuries.
‘Speculation about a stabbing is inaccurate. Please help us by avoiding the area.’
