Chaos, concerns for Singaporean fans in Liverpool after Reds’ victory parade incident

SINGAPORE – Singaporean Aaron Kok was among the hundreds of thousands of red-clad fans lining the streets of Liverpool on May 27, soaking up the lively atmosphere as the British city celebrated the club’s 20th top-flight league title with an open-top bus parade with the players.

Mr Kok, founder and chief executive of 1896 Travel, a local sports tourism company, had travelled there with more than 100 Liverpool football fans from Singapore to take part in the festivities.

But as the party wound down after the 3½-hour parade, the 48-year-old realised something was wrong when he noticed about 10 ambulances and people receiving medical attention.

Concerned, he checked in with his fellow travellers as the group had dispersed into smaller clusters along the 16km route. It took him about an hour to confirm that everyone was safe. He eventually found out that a car had ploughed into the crowd during the parade.

He said: “It definitely put a dampener to things. When the first videos came out, everyone was absolutely stunned.

“Gradually overnight, things stabilised... and it was very assuring that the authorities controlled everything after that.”

According to the BBC, the incident occurred at about 6pm (UK time) on Water Street, near the Strand, 1.6km before the parade’s finishing point. Moments earlier, Liverpool had paraded the Premier League trophy from the top of a bus.

At least 47 people were injured in the incident, including four children, the ambulance service reported.

Twenty-seven were taken to hospital, four of whom sustained serious injuries.

Police arrested a “53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area”, who was identified as the driver of the vehicle that struck the group of supporters.

Several Singaporeans had made the trip to Liverpool during the week to catch the final day of the Premier League season as the Reds hosted Crystal Palace in a 1-1 draw on May 25 before hoisting the league trophy.

Real estate agent Eric Kwek, 47, was at the Royal Albert Dock jetty, located near the end of the parade route, and was unaware of the incident until a friend from the UK texted to ask if he was safe.

He had read earlier reports of 17 people being injured in incidents involving flares during pre-celebration events, which prompted warnings from Merseyside Police ahead of the team’s bus parade.

He said: “We were quite shocked and overwhelmed, and we felt lucky that we were at that spot (we were at) because there were two kids with us – my daughter and nephew.

“We feel sorry for the people who were injured. We had seen a report a day earlier that there were 17 people injured... and we were just hoping that no one else would get hurt.”

Ms Seline Kok, 32, who works in social services, did not see the incident but sensed something was amiss when she saw ambulances and police cars.

Her initial thought was that there had been a stampede or crush due to the crowds.

As the incident led to road closures and overcrowded train stations, she could not find an Uber or car to take her to her Airbnb even after midnight, but thankfully, a friend in the city centre offered her a place to stay.

She said: “It was something I was quite worried about since yesterday because of the lack of crowd control, plus people carried glass bottles and dropped them everywhere.

“It felt like most people, us included, didn’t think so much about our safety because we were so busy celebrating that historic win.

“It was quite scary because we didn’t know the extent of the incident and how many people got run over, plus we didn’t know which place was safe in the city centre.”

Mr Andrew Kwong, a retail sales account manager at Apple, had travelled to Liverpool for the parade after the Covid-19 pandemic scuppered his plans to celebrate the Reds’ 2019-20 title.

He recalled how the city was taken over by a sea of red and chanting fans, with people setting up near the end point of the route seven hours before it even started.

The 46-year-old said: “It was very packed, cold and wet, but everyone was in high spirits. At the time, I didn’t think anything could have put a damper on the day.

“But shortly after the parade ended, we were already back in our hotel when we got the news. And if there was anything that was going to spoil the day, that was going to be it. A terrible event that never needed to happen.”

The Straits Times has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to check if any Singaporeans have been affected by the incident.