80 injured in Australia music festival stampede

About 80 people were injured in a stampede which occurred as festival-goers tried to leave a performance by Australian rock band.

Canberra, Dec 31: At least 80 people were hurt in a stampede at a music festival in the Australian city of Lorne near Melbourne. Out of the 80 injured late Friday, 36 were admitted to hospitals, including 19 with serious injuries, according to doctors, public broadcaster ABC reported on Saturday.

The stampede occurred around 11 p.m., when a group of people trying to leave the venue fell down resulting in chaos and panic. "I thought I was going to die. There were people lying there, unconscious, not moving. I thought the people around me were dead," 19-year-old Olivia Jones said.

"We need to investigate what happened and how it happened," said James Merlino, the emergency services minister of the state of Victoria, Efe news reported.

The Falls Music and Arts Festival is held annually in different parts of Australia - Lorne, Marion Bay, Byron Bay and Fremantle - over the New Year's Eve and January period.

IANS