CARACAS: At least 17 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede in a nightclub in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, the Interior Minister Néstor Reverol has confirmed.
"The stampede was triggered when a tear-gas canister was set off during a brawl," BBC reported quoting the Minister. Party-goers were celebrating the end of the school year and several of the dead are reported to be minors.
The detonation set off the stampede, followed by a crowd of 500 people rushing towards the exit.
Seven people have been arrested over the incident, the Interior Minister said. The stampede took place at the Club Los Cotorros in the El Paraíso district in western Caracas, according to the local media.