A German police union boss has criticised organisers of Berlin’s annual open-air New Year’s Eve party for designating a special "safety area" for women, saying it suggests they are not safe from assault elsewhere.

German chancellor Angela Merkel promised an “intense” investigation into the deaths of 19 people at a techno music festival as witnesses put the blame on police and security staff.

THE head of a police union warned German authorities 12 months ago that the Love Parade in Duisburg at which 19 people died was an accident waiting to happen.

THE death toll rose to 19 yesterday and police said that 340 had been injured in a panicked crush of partygoers in an overcrowded tunnel that served as the sole entrance to a German festival billed as the world’s largest techno music party.