20 years since Nyamiha stampede
Memorial at Nyamiha / vetliva.by
May 30 is the 20th anniversary of the tragedy at Nyamiha. On this day in 1999, 53 people, mostly aged between 14 and 20 years old, died in a crush in the underground passage of the Nyamiha metro station. Over a hundred people were injured.
The stampede occurred during a beer and music festival when a downpour sent the crowd dashing for shelter into the metro underway passage. Some of the people fell down and others stepped on them being dragged forward by the crowd amid panic.
The memorial “Roses” was installed 3 years after the tragedy: a staircase with 53 metallic roses lying on its steps. A small chapel with a metallic plate with the names of all the victims can be seen on the left.
A service in memory of the victims of Nyamiha will be organized in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk today. The victims’ relatives will be attending. The religious precession will then move to the place of the tragedy to lay flowers there.
