Video: 'The Who Concert, Cincinnati December 3,1979'

(Monday, December 3, 1979, approximately 7:30 p.m. EST) — 11 people were killed and 26 were injured tonight when thousands of young people waiting to attend a concert by English rock band The Who suddenly rushed the doors of the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

“It was mayhem — bodies were all over,” said Norman Wells, Assistant Fire Chief, one of scores of rescue workers summoned to the white concrete arena on the banks of the Ohio River, where an estimated 20,000 fans had gathered for a concert by The Who.

According to Chief Wells and other officials, the incident began just before the 8:00 p.m. scheduled start of the concert, when some of the fans managed to open one of the arena’s doors, touching off a stampede.

Officials at the Hamilton County Morgue said that those who died apparently had been crushed to death.

“We have all sorts of life?saving devices,” said a paramedic who asked not to be identified. “We have drugs, we have highly trained people, and none of it did a bit of good. They just died.”

Despite the deaths and injuries, the concert proceeded as scheduled.

“We figured it would be better to let go than create another panic situation,” Chief Wells said.

Neither the fans inside nor the performers were told of the deaths. When the concert was over about 10 p.m., many of those leaving the arena told television interviewers that they had been unaware of the deaths and injuries.

Officials said that seven young men and four young women, all in their teens and early 20’s, had died.