Taxmen to help determine if Madrid rave in which four died was overcrowded

Tax inspectors have decided to help calculate the number of people who were actually at the Madrid Arena on October 31 when four girls died following a stampede of party-goers who were attending an electronic music party, Europa Press said Friday.

Police have said that the Madrid Arena was filled past its capacity of 10,600, estimating that some 18,000 people --- including 3,000 gatecrashers – may have been at the Thriller Music Party. The organizer of the event has maintained that only 9,600 tickets were sold.

Now inspectors from the AEAT tax agency said they will try to calculate the number of tickets sold against the value added tax (VAT) paid on the entrance stubs, sources told Europa Press. A Madrid court, which is investigating the incident, said this past week said that a police report confirmed that the arena located in Casa de Campo was “fully over packed.”

The four girls who died had been crushed by a stampeding crowd that was trying to get out of the Madrid Arena after someone reportedly threw a flare or a firecracker and sacred concert-goers. A fifth girl still remains in critical condition at a Madrid area hospital, medical sources said Friday.

Madrid Mayor Ana Botella said Friday that “All Madrid residents, especially those of us who are parents, feel the profound sadness and grief the families of the victims are going through.”

Botella has come under fire for traveling to Portugal on holiday with her husband, the former Prime Minister José María Aznar, just hours after the tragedy. She returned to attend the funerals of two of the girls. There have been calls for her resignation.

Madrid Spaces and Congresses, the entity that runs the arena, has announced that it will sue Diviertt, the organizer of the event, if it has provided the city with false information about the number of tickets sold. Diviertt has said in a statement that all the information that has been said by the court and Madrid city officials is “speculative.”