Crowd accident database with event phase classification (1900–2024)

This dataset extends the crowd accident database compiled by Feliciani (2026) with a phase classification column, assigning each of the 388 incidents to one of five event phases: Ingress, Egress, Circulation, Ingress/Egress, or Unclear.

The phase classification was conducted manually by a crowd safety specialist with domain expertise in pedestrian flow, mass gathering safety, and crowd dynamics. All 388 incident descriptions were reviewed individually. An initial keyword-based classification served as the starting point; all records were subsequently verified and corrected through manual review.

The files included in this dataset are described as follows:

accident_data_phase_validated.csv — CSV file extending the original dataset by Feliciani (2026) with a Phase column. The Phase column contains one of five values: Ingress, Egress, Circulation, Ingress/Egress, or Unclear. All other columns are unchanged from the original source dataset.

phase_classification_methodology.pdf — PDF document describing the phase definitions, decision rules, and classification methodology applied. Includes the definitions of each phase, boundary case decision rules, and the rationale for the conservative "when in doubt, Unclear" approach.

Phase definitions (summary)

Ingress: Crowd movement directed toward entering a venue or gathering space, including queuing, gate rushes, and boarding transport to reach an event.

Egress: Crowd movement directed away from a venue, including post-event dispersal and evacuation triggered by fire, weather, violence, or other external threats. Evacuation incidents are classified as Egress even when no formal event egress was taking place.

Circulation: Crowd dynamics occurring within an already-assembled crowd during an ongoing event, including surges toward a stage, crushes during rituals, and internal crowd movement.

Ingress/Egress: Counter-flow incidents where crowds moving in opposite directions meet and cause a crush.

Unclear: Incidents where the available description does not provide sufficient information to determine the phase with reasonable confidence.

Important notes

This dataset is a derivative of Feliciani (2026) and is published under the same Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY) license.

The phase classification reflects the classifier's judgment based on the incident descriptions provided in the source dataset. Short or vague descriptions are more likely to result in an Unclear classification.

No modifications have been made to any existing fields in the source dataset.

If you use this data, please cite

The original source dataset and associated journal article:

Feliciani, C. (2026). List of crowd accidents from 1900 to 2024 [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19483010

Feliciani, C. et al. (2023). Trends in crowd accidents based on an analysis of press reports. Safety Science, 164, 106174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106174

This derivative dataset:

Kant, E. (2026). Crowd accident database with event phase classification (1900–2024) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20607269

Keywords

crowd safety, crowd accidents, crowd crush, event phase, ingress, egress, circulation, mass gathering, pedestrian dynamics

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)

Related identifiers

Is derived from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19483010