What to do if you're caught in a stampede?

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asked Mar 25, 2022 in Polls/Surveys by Ponytail (940 points)
What to do if you're caught in a stampede?

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answered Mar 26, 2022 by Wendell (41,840 points)
If you get caught in a stampede you should do the following.

Stay on your feet.
Conserve energy – don't push against the crowd and don't yell or scream.
Use sign language to communicate with those around you (point, wave, even use your eyes)
Keep your hands up by your chest, like a boxer – it allows you movement and protects your chest.

While you might think most injuries and deaths in such incidents are cause by trampling, a lack of oxygen is often to blame.

The crush of the crowd pushes against your chest and makes it hard to breathe, leading to what's called compressive asphyxia.

It can also cause head and neck injuries.

Crushes often occur during religious pilgrimages and large entertainment events, as they tend to involve dense crowds, with people closely surrounded on all sides.

Human stampedes and crushes also occur as people try to get away from a perceived danger, as in a case where a noxious gas was released in crowded premises.

On 24 September 2015, an event described as a "crush and stampede" caused deaths estimated at well over 2,000 people, suffocated or crushed during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history.

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