PhilSports Stadium stampede
| Time | 6:00 A.M. (PST) |
|---|---|
| Date | February 4, 2006 |
| Location | PhilSports Arena, Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Also known as | ULTRA stampede (or simply Wowowee stampede) |
| Type | Stampede |
| Deaths | 73 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 400 |
The PhilSports Stadium Stampede (also referred to as the ULTRA stampede or simply Wowowee stampede) was a stampede that occurred at the PhilSports Stadium (also known as the ULTRA) in Pasig, Metro Manila in the Philippines on February 4, 2006. It killed 73 people and injured about 400. About 30,000 people had been gathered outside the stadium waiting to participate in the first anniversary episode of the former television variety show Wowowee.
On February 4, 2006, about 30,000 people had gathered outside the PhilSports Stadium to participate in the first anniversary episode of the popular and now-defunct ABS-CBN early afternoon television game show, Wowowee. It was scheduled at 1 pm. The football stadium was supposed to be the viewing area of people who were not able to enter the basketball arena, where the program was to be staged. The size of the crowd was significantly larger than the usual 5,000 who attended previous recordings which were held at ABS-CBN studios.
It was the show's first anniversary event, and there were prizes awaiting to be offered including jeepneys, taxis and a top prize of one million pesos. According to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report, most of the victims were from the poorest parts of the Metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces, generally jobless and attracted by the show's promise of instant wealth.
At about 6 am, organizers of the show began handing out tickets to people in the crowd, many of whom had been camping outside the stadium for days to acquire them. Overhearing the news, people started trying to get ahead of the queue and became agitated. As people in front of the line are given entrance to the stadium, the crowds became more impatient and started pushing forward and shoving, prompting security guards to panic and shut the entrance gates. Witnesses and several survivors reported that the stampede began when the already impatient crowd continued pushing and shoving, causing one of the barriers near the gates, which are used to keep people in queue, to collapse. Coincidentally, the gates happened to be on a sloped driveway and when security guards tried to seal the gates further and calm the crowd, the crowd still continued to push and shove until the gates eventually gave way. After the gates gave way, people at the front collapsed from exhaustion while others behind them stumbled. The sloped driveway contributed to the worsening of the stampede.
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