An Armagh mum-of-four has said it was lucky nobody was hurt amid huge crowds descended on a Christmas event in Rushmere Shopping Centre last night (Thursday).
The Rushmere Twilight Christmas Market was held yesterday evening from 4pm to 9pm at the Centre and featured a range of market stalls and Christmas activities.
However, many who were there have since spoken out about Rushmere’s perceived failure to manage the crowds, with some saying that people could have been injured.
One mum from Armagh spoke to us about how the event – in her view – quickly turned to chaos.
She had attended with her four children (aged 1, 2, 7 and 13), alongside her sister-in-law and her children (aged 5, 8 and 14).
Within 90 minutes of their arrival, she says they “physically couldn’t move” and “there were children”.
She recalled: “The crowds started building and building and it actually got that bad people were pushing and shoving.
“I actually suffered a panic attack because the crowds got that bad. I panicked because I didn’t know how I was going to get my children out of the crowd safely.”
The concerned mother says more should have been done to ensure health and safety at the event as, in her view, there was a “risk of crushing”.
“There was inadequate crowd control; there was no one-way system and it should have been a ticketed event. My seven-year-old didn’t sleep last night because he was so traumatised.
“I couldn’t see any paramedics or Red Cross or anything like that. I couldn’t see members of the PSNI anywhere and in such massive crowds there should’ve been.
“Last night I was so scared for my children’s safety. It really put me off going to big crowds. It got to the point I was crying coming out and it wasn’t just me. There were other families crying and I couldn’t believe what had unravelled.
“It was absolutely traumatising. My child is not even at school today because they’re traumatised.”
She added: “Rushmere is such a massive shopping centre and it was obviously going to get big crowds. It was an absolutely brilliant event only for the overcrowding. There was so much work that went into it and this overshadowed it.
“If it was ticketed, had a one-way system, more security guards and police and paramedics, this would’ve been a brilliant event, but it wasn’t well organised in regards to crowd control and health and safety.
“It was horrendous and I think they need to learn from this and reflect on organising big events because safety is paramount.”
Alliance Councillor Peter Lavery said Council’s Environmental Health team are currently investigating.
He has advised anyone who wishes to pass on any comments on the event to contact the council team using ehealth@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.co.uk
Sinn Féin councillor, Catherine Nelson, said: “I had many local people get in touch with me about what was described as serious overcrowding at last night’s Christmas event at Rushmere Shopping Centre, Craigavon.
“In wake of the concerns raised with me by many people who attended the event, I have contacted the centre’s management as well as the Council’s health and safety department.
“Health and safety must be paramount when hosting any public event and questions need answered about this particular event.”
Armagh I has reached out to Rushmere for comment but at the time of publishing had not received a response.
