Posted on 02/05/2006 2:58:12 AM PST by freepatriot32
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Thousands of fans surged through security barriers Saturday at an autograph session for a wildly popular Mexican band, leaving three people crushed to death and 38 injured, mostly teenagers.
The incident came only weeks after police in New Jersey and Texas also struggled to contain unexpectedly large turnouts of fans for the RBD band, which stars in the television show "Rebelde."
The show has made RBD one of the most popular groups in Latin America and among Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 fans gathered outside a shopping center in Sao Paulo for an autograph session by the group, said Adriano Moneta, a state spokesman.
The crowd surged, and two teen girls, ages 15 and 16, and a 47-year-old woman died, Moneta said. At least 38 people were injured, mostly teenagers, he said.
Authorities said some of the fans were trampled when a security fence keeping them from getting too close to the singers collapsed, apparently when fans rushed forward as the band began preparing for a brief performance scheduled after the autograph session.
None of the band members were injured, Moneta said.
Police in Dallas called out a SWAT team to control some 10,000 fans, some of whom waited for six hours to see the group at a Wal-Mart on Jan. 13. The size of the crowd forced organizers to cancel it.
Extra police also were called out to handle unexpectedly large, frustrated crowds at autograph events in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 12 and in West Patterson, N.J., on Jan. 15.
Worse than Beatle Mania.
I sure hope the crowds at the Super Bowl dont mob those poor decrepit skinny ugly old men playing in the band at half time.
They may be decrepit, skinny and ugly, but they definitely ain't POOR.
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