Chief Constable Uffe Kornerup said Pearl Jam was on a list of interviews left to be done and a lawyer for the popular American band was expected to arrive July 26 to talk to police.

“If we can get in touch with the band we would like to interview them,” Kornerup told The Associated Press. “But I guarantee they cannot be held responsible for anything according to Danish law.”

Kornerup also dismissed reports that Roskilde police held Pearl Jam morally responsible, saying they had received hate mail from angry fans.

“We never blamed the band for anything and are completely puzzled by the reports claiming we did,” he said.

Eight young men died at the scene as fans pressed toward the stage while the Seattle-based band was playing just before midnight June 30 at the Roskilde Festival. Another died of his injuries a few days later.

Band members shouted to the crowd of about 50,000 to move back and halted the performance when that didn’t happen.

Police issued a report last week in which they ruled that the deaths were a freak accident and safety precautions, including physical barriers to prevent overcrowding, were sufficient.

Pearl Jam representatives could not immediately be reached for comment. The group hasexpressed sorrow over the deaths and canceled two subsequent shows in Europe.

“Pearl Jam has always, and will continue, to do everything possible to ensure that their shows, and shows they are a part of, are safe and enjoyable for those who attend,” their manager, Kelly Curtis, said in a July 19 statement posted on the group’s Web site.

Last week’s report also concluded that slippery mud due to heavy rains worsened the situation at the outdoor festival in Roskilde, 25 miles west of the capital, Copenhagen. The victims were from Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.

Kornerup said the remaining interviews, which were expected to be completed in a few months, were not likely to lead to a different conclusion but could help prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.

“I cannot imagine that anybody can be blamed or held judicially responsible,” Kornerup said. “But our further investigations might uncover interesting things that can teach us somethingabout concert security in the future.”

The report was delivered to the Culture and Justice ministries, which have decided to create a task force to investigate how security at festivals and music concerts can be improved. The group will deliver a report to the two ministries on December15.

The tragedy was the first major accident at the four-day festival, which was first held in 1971 and was inspired by the 1969 Woodstock Festival in upstate New York.