Manslaughter probe launched after German festival deaths

German prosecutors are investigating negligent manslaughter following the deaths of 19 people in a crowd crush at the Love Parade techno music festival.

Prosecutors’ spokesman Rolf Haferkamp said today investigations at Duisberg near Dusseldorf in northern Germany centre on suspicions of negligent manslaughter and negligent bodily harm.

The Love Parade was once a Berlin institution, but was held for the last time in the capital in 2006 after suffering from financial problems.

It started rotating around the cities of the Ruhr industrial region in 2007. Organisers said yesterday it will never be held again.