'Crowd Quakes' Were A Key Factor In LoveParade Disaster

'Crowd Quakes' Were A Key Factor In LoveParade Disaster: Helbing and Mukerjee say most deaths occurred elsewhere in the crowd because of a phenomenon known as crowd quakes. These occur when the density of a crowd becomes so great that individuals are forced into bodily contact with each other.
When this happens, the forces are transmitted through the crowd in chains  from one body to the next. Crucially, when this happens, the transmitted forces add up...
And this is what kills: not the overall density of the crowd but the transmission of lethal force through the crowd in ways that are almost random. This causes people to fall, creating a domino effect that crushes people to death.