The stampede at the Lanterna Azzurra (Blue Lantern) club was a tragedy that traumatised Italy in December 2018, leaving five teenagers and a woman dead. Two hundred others, mainly young Italians, were injured in the panic in the crowded club in Corinaldo. Six men were facing a judge at a court hearing in Ancona, central Italy, on Thursday on charges of manslaughter.

Prosecutors believe the panic was started deliberately to rob the crowd. But it swiftly became a disaster, known in the Italian media as the “Corinaldo massacre”, with Pope Francis saying prayers for the victims in St Peter’s Square.

The Lanterna Azzurra club was overflowing with young fans of popular rapper Sfera Ebbasta. At least 1,400 people had gathered for the event in the small town near Ancona in the Marche region of central Italy. However, the venue was big enough for fewer than 900, police say. Most of the victims at the club were aged between 14 and 16, and were enjoying the 8 December public holiday on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.(BBC)…[+]