Saturday was supposed to be a special night out for one young reveller, as her friends had organised a surprise party at one of her favourite clubs… but it went terribly wrong.

The 16-year-old was among the 74 people who suffered injuries when a glass railing gave way at the PlusOne club in Paceville on Saturday night.

The teenager, who asked not to be named, spent the night unable to move most of her upper body after having sustained fractures in her back and neck.

Lying still in bed at Mater Dei Hospital, the girl was surrounded by friends, some of whom had come to visit her, others who themselves sustained injuries and were receiving treatment.

The teen’s mother told the Times of Malta she was in shock, having spent the early hours of yesterday morning fearing for her daughter’s life.

“I don’t even know what to say. It’s been a horrible few hours. I can barely speak I’m so hoarse,” she said.

Witnesses who were in the club said the establishment, on St Rita Steps, was jam-packed but that was always the case as it was a popular venue. Suddenly, the club was empty as the revellers rushed to the stairs when a mysterious substance irritated clubbers’ eyes and throats.

“I suddenly found it difficult to breathe and the security guards and bouncers started waving their hands ushering everyone out. I followed to try and get away from whatever it was,” one clubber said. He said panic ensued as the unknown irritant started affecting more and more party-goers.

“People were screaming and shouting and then pushing to try and get out; there were so many people on the stairs. All of a sudden, the glass railing shattered and before we knew it everyone fell. There was a lot of blood, people were in a lot of pain,” he said.

Other witnesses recounted the horrific feeling as the crowd of dozens of young clubbers were pulled down the stairs.

“I was dragged over the edge with my girlfriend, it was horrible. When we landed we were on top of other people who had really hurt themselves,” another clubber said.

He recounted how bouncers from nearby clubs run over to assist the injured, pulling them out from the heap of clubbers at the bottom of the stairs.

‘Mystery ‘ gas sparked stampede

Young people who were at the club when chaos broke out on Saturday night said the mass exit was sparked by a mystery substance in the air.

“I suddenly started finding it difficult to breathe and my eyes were burning. I don’t know what it was but I had to get out,” one young clubber said.

Some described the mystery substance as a gas, though they all agreed it had no smell and was invisible.

The unknown substance started raising concerns that pepper or riot spray had been used, with some even questioning whether the police had used the substance to break up a fight in the club.

Others speculated that the substance had been used by one party-goer as a practical joke gone wrong. But there was no immediate tangible prove of anything of the sort happening

What was clear was that the substance had caused many to leave at once.

“I just felt my lungs burning and eyes burning as well. I couldn’t stand the burning feeling, I just had to get out of the club,” one reveller said.