A stampede broke out last night at a fan zone in France while the quarter final between Germany and Italy was taking place.
According to reports, a panicked evacuation took place at the fan zone after a firecracker was let off prompting people to flee from the area thinking it was under attack from gun shots.
People reported hearing a loud noise followed by smoke.
Big Bang, smoke & stampede in the Paris fan zone, fences getting smashed down to escape, women and children in tears. Luckily a false alarm.
— Kristofer Lorimer (@lorimer2387) July 2, 2016
An onlooker, Henry Wensleydale, captured the moment people began to run from the fan zone which was located at the foot of the Eifel Tower in the heart of Paris.
My video of panic at #FanZoneTourEiffel pic.twitter.com/fBQBkUeJ27
— Henry Wensleydale (@DaHyundaiLawyer) July 2, 2016
Other footage was taken further down the street where people continued to run away from the area.
Why is there panic and running from #fanzonetoureiffel ? pic.twitter.com/tiYmWct4aP
— Doctor Foye (@TailboneDoctor) July 2, 2016
Reporter Thomas Burrowes was at the scene and told The Daily Mail:
“I saw hundreds of people running in panic. People were trampling over each other trying to get out.
“People were screaming, there were lots of people in tears and there were lots of women with only one shoe afterwards because they had been running like mad.”
Another onlooker Ali Gourlay said:
“I saw sheer panic. It was everyone for themselves.
“There was no direction, no one knew what was happening. Everyone just ran. I thought I saw a firecracker.”
Toby Smyth also told the paper:
“Suddenly I saw a wall of people running towards me and had no time to react to it.
“It’s scenes you see on the news but never think you’ll be part of. It’s a reflection of the fear that is here in Paris. Families scattered.
“We helped a Canadian family in tears. There were 24 of them, their first day in France, who said they now wanted to fly home. I got pulled over a fence and lost my shoe in the stampede.”
