Brit bands pull out of festival

Oasis and the Pet Shop Boys called for a proper inquiry

British bands Oasis and the Pet Shop Boys have pulled out of a European music festival after eight fans were trampled to death.

The male festival-goers just before midnight on Friday as American rockers Pearl Jam played to a crowd of 50,000 at the outdoor Roskilde Festival near Denmark's capital Copenhagen.

The two British bands issued a joint statement saying that "out of respect for those who have died and their families" it would be inappropriate to go ahead with their performances.

And they urged promoters to close down the main stage for the rest of the festival for a proper investigation into the deaths.

It was Roskilde's first major incident in 30 years

The eight fans died as the crowd surged forward during Pearl Jam's show late on Friday.

Twenty-six people were injured, three of them seriously.

The ground at the annual event had become muddy from heavy rain and the victims slipped or fell in front of the stage and were trampled to death, police said.

Police have so far only identified four of the dead - a German aged 26, a Dutchman aged 23, a Swede aged 22 and a 17-year-old Danish youth.

Festival goes on

On Saturday night performances were still continuing at the Danish festival.

Both British bands were due to play on the stage where the tragedy occurred.

The Pet Shop Boys are respecting the victims and their families

A full investigation into the incident was "essential for the future confidence in, and safety of, open air music events of this nature," the bands said.

Band's anguish

A statement from Pearl Jam said: "This is so painful. I think we are all waiting for someone to wake us and say it was just a horrible nightmare.

"There are absolutely no words to express our anguish in regard to the parents and loved ones of those precious lives that were lost."

First held in 1971, Roskilde was inspired by the 1969 Woodstock Festival in New York and is held annually on a farm, 25 miles west of the capital Copenhagen.