The appearance of German social media star and footballer Nader Zindaoui at a waffle store in Berlin on Sunday sparked a panic, police said.
What happened?
Jindaoui plays for Bundesliga II side Hertha Berlin. Before the rampage, he addressed his one million followers on TikTok and Instagram and announced that he would be visiting a venue called “Wonder Waffle” in the Gesundbrunnen area of the German capital.
His wife Louisa, who is also a social media star with 2.3 million Instagram followers, appeared at the waffle store with Jindoui.
The store offered free waffles to fans to mark the occasion.
About a thousand people initially gathered at the store to see Jindaui, and the crowd quickly doubled as he arrived. Police said the incident escalated into “unruly scenes” and they were forced to intervene as a stampede broke out.
DPA news agency quoted police as saying they had to make announcements on loudspeakers to clear roads and sidewalks to help the victims.
Children are also among the injured
The injured included a 10-year-old girl, who was reportedly taken to hospital with chest pain after the crowd started pushing to get into the store.
An eight-year-old boy had trouble breathing and was removed from the crowd.
According to police, four other youths also suffered breathing problems and circulatory problems.
The shop owner agreed with the police to shut down the event.
However, a second crush reportedly occurred when Jindaoui tried to leave through the back way.
The influencer apologized to fans
Jinaoui, 28, explained the decision to cancel the appearance on Instagram, calling it a “state of emergency.”
He told fans, “I can understand why the police stopped it. In the end, it’s really about your safety.”
The influencer said he was sad that everyone couldn’t take photos with him, especially since many fans had traveled long distances.
“We would have loved to have made time for each of you,” he said.
Jinaoui is a prominent influencer on Instagram and YouTube, where he shares information about his life and football career.
This article was written with materials from dpa news agency.