Six people were killed and around 35 injured in a stampede at a night club in Italy’s Corinaldo near the coastal city of Ancona on Saturday, reported AFP. At least 12 people who were injured in the incident are said to be in serious condition.

Five minors, including three girls and two boys, and a woman who had accompanied her daughter to the night club died, police chief Oreste Capocasa told AP. The club was hosting a concert by rapper Sfera Ebbasta and around 1,000 people are believed to have attended the event, according to BBC.

The audience at Lanterna Azzurra club ran for the exits after someone sprayed a substance similar to pepper spray, AP quoted ANSA news agency as saying.

“The cause [of the stampede] may have been the dispersal of a stinging substance, the young people fled and trampled over each other,” the fire service department said on Twitter.

A 16-year-old boy said the crowd rushed to an emergency exit and found it blocked. “The bouncers told us to go back,” he said.