Death toll from Germany's Love Parade in Duisburg rises to 19

At least 19 people reportedly died Sunday at the Love Parade, a well-known dance event, which took place in the German city of Duisburg, after local officials and police defended their decision to use a narrow roadway tunnel as the lone entrance for hundreds of thousands of revelers trying to reach the festival. 

In a suffocating crush of people more than 340 were said to be injured. Police said the dead included seven foreigners.

The organisers of the famous techno music event said yesterday that it would never be held again. "[It's] over for the Love Parade," Rainer Schaller is quoted by media as saying.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her horror over the deadly tragedy.

"This was a very, very dreadful and sad day," Ms Merkel said. "We must do everything we can to ensure that something like this never happens again." She reportedly demanded an "intensive" investigation into the accident.

The German-born Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sorrow during his weekly blessing from Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence south of Rome, and said he was praying for the victims.

The original Berlin Love Parade grew from a 1989 peace demonstration into a huge outdoor celebration of club culture that drew about 1,5 million people at its peak in 1999.