1998 Gothenburg discotheque fire

1998 arson attack in Gothenburg, Sweden hist November 2019 Gothenburg discothèque fire Minnesmarke diskobranden Gbg.JPG Claes Hake's memorial for the dead, unveiled on the tenth anniversary of the fire in late-October 2008 Gothenburg, Sweden 1998 10 29 y 23:40 CET Arson, mass murder 63 213 Shoresh Kaveh Housein Arsani Mohammad Mohammadamini Meysam Mohammadyeh Retaliation for being denied free entry into the discothèque The Gothenburg discothèque fire was caused by an arson attack on 29 October 1998, which occurred on premises located on Hisingen island in Gothenburg, Sweden. The premises, which belonged to an organization catering to the Macedonian community in Gothenburg, had been rented for the night by secondary school students for the purpose of hosting a discothèque. At the time of the fire, 375 people aged 12–25 were present, the vast majority of whom had various ethnic minority backgrounds. The fire department had estimated the building could only hold up to 150. In all, 63 were killed and 213 injured. Fire The fire started on the premises of the Macedonian organization on the third floor, where a discothèque for secondary school students had been arranged to celebrate Halloween. Dance Hall Fire http://www.emergency-management.net/Gothenburg%20Report.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20100331104726/http://www.emergency-management.net/Gothenburg%20Report.pdf 31 March 2010 usurped National Fire Protection Association. Retrieved on April 3, 2008http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9810/30/sweden.fire.03/ 60 dead in Sweden dance hall fire CNN 1998 April 30, 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20050907162635/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9810/30/sweden.fire.03/ September 7, 2005 Earlier, to make space for the dance floor, numerous tables and chairs were removed and stacked up in a stairway that served as the building's emergency exit, thereby blocking it.2018-10-29 The story of the biggest fire disaster in Swedish history https://www.thelocal.se/20181029/the-biggest-fire-disaster-in-swedish-history-gothenburg-disco https://web.archive.org/web/20181101025912/https://www.thelocal.se/20181029/the-biggest-fire-disaster-in-swedish-history-gothenburg-disco 2018-11-01 2026-03-22 en A table, used as a ticket counter, was also placed at the main entrance, thereby narrowing it.2023-10-27 Linda om den hemska natten – överlevde diskoteksbranden https://www.femina.se/intervju/linda-om-fruktansvarda-natten-var-nara-att-mista-livet-i-diskoteksbranden/10021429 2026-03-22 www.femina.se sv-SE At approximately 11:25 pm, the stack of chairs in the stairway was set ablaze with a flammable liquid,BBC News EUROPE Swedish disco arson trial opens http://news.bbc.co.uk:80/2/hi/europe/734410.stm https://web.archive.org/web/20090305022006/http://news.bbc.co.uk:80/2/hi/europe/734410.stm 2009-03-05 2026-03-22 news.bbc.co.uk after which guests at the event noticed foul-smelling smoke, which was originally thought to have come from the smoke machine. A DJ at the party then saw the emergency exit on fire and warned guests to leave immediately. Most of the guests initially did not heed this warning. When smoke began to fill the room, guests rushed to exit the premises. With the emergency exit blocked and on fire, a single stairway became the only available escape route. As guests tried to escape, they trampled on one another, creating a bottleneck. At this time, the fire had spread to the dance floor, where the table from earlier had been moved to let guests escape more quickly. As the commotion ensued, the table ended up in front of the entrance,Skribent Extern 2023-12-11 Festen som blev historisk katastrof https://www.brandsakert.se/2023/12/11/festen-som-blev-historisk-katastrof/ 2026-03-22 Tidningen Brandsäkert sv-SE blocking the escape route and thereby creating another bottleneck. Many guests were forced to climb on top of one another and jump out from windows to safety, but since these were 2.2 m ft off above floor level and 5 m ft off above ground level outside the building, many were injured in the process.P3 dokumentär https://web.archive.org/web/20090203042218/http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/p3/programsidor/artikel.asp?ProgramID=2519&Artikel=1011058 2009-02-03 Sirenen no. 6, September 2008 Furthermore, adherence to fire safety standards was generally poor at the site. The building also lacked sprinklers and a fire alarm system. The first emergency call arrived at 23:42, but due to the background noise, it was some time before the operator could understand what the caller was trying to say. At 23:45 a so-called "major call-out" took place from a fire station on the island, and four minutes later the first rescue team arrived on the scene. Six other fire crews were dispatched a short time afterwards. About 60 young people were rescued by firefighters with self-contained breathing apparatus, 40 of whom were led down the staircase and 20 carried out through the windows. Others managed to escape on their own. Victims A total of 63 young people were killed and 213 were injured, of whom 50 seriously. For some time afterwards, it could not be determined whether the fire had been accidental or caused by an arson attack, but speculation soon started that the fire, whose victims were mainly immigrants, had been started with xenophobic or racist motives. Posters were distributed around Gothenburg with the text "60 young immigrants have died, now 60 Swedes must die."http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/telegram/0,1082,186624_INR_p_,00.html Aftonbladet Affischer ska piska upp hatstämning i Göteborg Annika Hansson Anna Werner Gothenburg November 5, 1998 July 23, 2015 Swedish It was later ascertained that the four suspected arsonists were themselves immigrants from Iran.http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0008/29/brand.html Aftonbladet Skärpta straff för diskobranden Longer sentences for discothèque fire Cina Rönn August 29, 2000 July 23, 2015 Swedishhttp://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=113&a=454162&ref=puff https://web.archive.org/web/20081029082915/http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=113&a=454162&ref=puff dead October 29, 2008 Göteborgs-Posten Gärningsmännen The perpetrators October 26, 2008 Swedish http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_1945833.svd Svenska Dagbladet Vi glömmer aldrig - Tio år efter branden på Backaplan We never forget - ten years after the fire at Backaplan Inger Atterstam Annika Engström October 26, 2008 July 23, 2015 Swedish Investigation On 1 June 1999, it was reported that two suspects had been arrested but later released. In December, a reward of 3 million kronor was offered for information that might help to ascertain the cause of the fire.http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0004/26/gbgatal2.html Aftonbladet Branden i Göteborg: Åtalet offentligt The fire in Gothenburg: The indictment public Anders Johansson April 26, 2000 July 23, 2015 Swedish At that time, no one was sure how it had started, despite over 1,400 people being questioned by the Swedish police. Later that month, the police also appealed for leads on a national TV show. In January 2000, three suspects were eventually taken into custody by the police, and in February a fourth was arrested. However, it is believed they were apprehended before the reward had even been offered. No preliminary investigation was ever started against the party's arrangers. Criminal prosecution section October 2017 The fire had been set by four teenagers aged 17–19, who had been denied free entry to the disco as a result of an argument. All four were charged and found guilty of aggravated arson, and the firestarter, Shoresh Kaveh, was sentenced by the district court in 2000 to eight years' imprisonment. Two others, Housein Arsani and Mohammad Mohammadamini, were sentenced to six years in prison, while the fourth, Meysam Mohammadyeh, who was a minor at the time of the offence, received three years in a juvenile care facility. Both the defendants and the prosecution appealed the sentences. The court of appeals upheld two of the verdicts, but the two verdicts of six years' imprisonment were raised to seven years. Mohammadyeh, nicknamed the youngest by the press, was represented by Leif Silbersky. It was established that the other three suspects were friends, and although Mohammadyeh had wanted to become friends with two of them, he was afraid of Kaveh. Silbersky asked for Mohammadyeh to be acquitted, as in his opinion thought Mohammadyeh should not be held legally responsible for his passivity.http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0006/09/brand.html Aftonbladet Ny rättegång i juli. Minst tre av de dömda kommer att överklaga New trial in July. At least three of those convicted will appeal Stefan Sjödin June 9, 2000 July 23, 2015 Swedish The court of appeals, however, considered it proven that the four "had mutually agreed to ruin the party by starting a fire", and that it was of "decisive importance with regards to the question of guilt that it had not been possible to prove that no other person or persons than Kaveh had torn the paper or started the fire in the stairway."http://www.sr.se/goteborg/nyheter2/Brand/hovratt/hrdom.stm Sveriges Radio Hovrättens dom Verdict of the Court of appeals Swedish dead https://web.archive.org/web/20031216075303/http://www.sr.se/goteborg/nyheter2/Brand/hovratt/hrdom.stm December 16, 2003 Professor Christian Diesen is of the opinion that it is possible that Mohammadyeh had "become involved in a sequence of events he had no control over and would have been judged differently if the fire had not had such devastating consequences."Diesen Christian http://www.juridicum.su.se/jurweb/utbildning/specialkurs/forundersok/HT2006/JT_sartryck.pdf Göteborgsbranden, Malexander- och Söderbergsmorden – svåra mål i teorin, enkla i praktiken? Juridisk Tidskrift 3 2000 Swedish dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090326191332/http://www.juridicum.su.se/jurweb/utbildning/specialkurs/forundersok/HT2006/JT_sartryck.pdf March 26, 2009 The penalties may be regarded as mild by international comparison, but Swedish law at the time allowed those aged 18–20 to be sentenced to a maximum of 8 years of prison, which was given to the leader. Those under 18 are given prison only for severe violent crimes, a maximum of 4 years. The case was prosecuted by Thomas Bodström, who later became Minister for Justice in Sweden. Legacy Relatives of the victims later founded the non-profit organization BOA (association for the relatives of the fire victims), which later for example was in contact with the relatives of victims in a similar discothèque fire in Volendam, Netherlands, and offered support to relatives of victims of the 2004 tsunami. The fire department in Gothenburg, as well as survivors and relatives of victims, also provide information to raise awareness among young people of how quickly a small fire can spread and the potential consequences. On the tenth anniversary of the fire in 2008, a permanent memorial was unveiled, made out of polished granite with the name and age of each victim engraved in gold. The monument was placed at Backaplan in the part of Hisingen where the fire occurred. It was designed by the sculptor Claes Hake.2008-10-30 Minnessten för brandoffren avtäcktes Memorial stone for fire victims unveiled http://www.sydsvenskan.se/sverige/minnessten-for-brandoffren-avtacktes/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140917050955/http://www.sydsvenskan.se/sverige/minnessten-for-brandoffren-avtacktes/ 2014-09-17 Sydsvenskan File:Backabranden minnesstenen 2012.jpg Memorial at Backaplan in 2012 300 References External links United States National Fire Protection Association report Analysing the Gothenburg fire Brandrättegången i Göteborg (article about the fire trial in Gothenburg, in Swedish) P3 dokumentär (documentary by the Swedish public service radio station P3) Brandoffrens anhöriga (homepage of BOA) Sweden 1990s 57 43 13 N 11 57 01 E region:SE-O_type:landmark title Category:20th-century mass murders in Sweden Category:1990s in Gothenburg Category:Nightclub arson attacks Category:Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes Category:1990s fires in Europe Category:Arson in 1998 Category:1998 mass murders Category:Arson in Sweden Category:Hisingen Category:October 1998 in Europe Category:1998 murders in Sweden Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Sweden Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1998 Category:Building and structure arson attacks in Europe