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Two dead after 400,000 attend Indio Solari show in Argentina

By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 15 March 2017

Police in Argentina have launched an investigation after two people died and eleven were injured at a performance by local musician Indio Solari.

The former frontman of 70s rock band Patricio Rey Y Los Redonditos De Recota is immensely popular in Argentina. His live performances are infrequent and are promoted via word of mouth, as was the case for Saturday’s show in Olavarría. Rumours that the performance may be his last, due to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, helped fuel interest. As a result, audience numbers were double that 200,000 that had been expected to attend, resulting in a number of crowd control and other logistical issues.

Surges near the front of the audience caused many to faint, with a number of people hospitalised and two deaths. Solari reportedly stopped his performance several times to try to alleviate the crush, though problems seemingly persisted. Meanwhile, the failure of mobile phone networks under the strain of so many people being in one place meant that friends and family were unable to contact those who had been hospitalised. Their whereabouts was subsequently provided by Solari’s Twitter account the following morning.

According to Billboard, police have now searched the offices of promoter En Vivo, looking for evidence about the number of tickets sold. It has also been reported that there was minimal security at the event, meaning it was easy for fans to gain entry without a ticket.

Solari was also questioned, but has now left Olavarría.