YAOUNDÉ — Eight people
were killed and dozens more injured in a crush outside a Cameroonian football
stadium ahead of an
Africa Cup of Nations match, officials said Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
Cameroonian President
Paul Biya ordered an investigation into the tragedy that occurred Monday as crowds
attempted to enter the Olembe Stadium in the capital Yaounde to watch the host
nation play the Comoros.
Although crowds at the
60,000-seat stadium had been limited to 60 percent of capacity for the
tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic, the cap is raised to 80 percent
when Cameroon's Indomitable Lions play.
"Eight deaths were
recorded, two women in their 30s, four men in their 30s, one child, one body
taken away by the family," said a preliminary health ministry report
obtained by AFP.
The ministry said victims
were "immediately transported" in ambulances, but "heavy road
traffic slowed down the transport".
Communications Minister Rene
Emmanuel Sadi said 38 people were injured, including seven seriously, according
to a statement.
The health ministry reported
earlier that around 50 were hurt, including two people with multiple injuries
and two more with serious head wounds.
A baby was also reportedly
trampled by the crowd, the ministry added. The infant was "immediately
extracted and taken to Yaounde General Hospital" and is in a
"medically stable" condition, it added.
The tragedy happened at
gates where final ticket checks are supposed to take place.
One man in his 30s who was
caught up in the crush told AFP that it was "complete chaos" at the
entrance to the stadium as supporters without tickets tried to force their way
in.
"I arrived a quarter of
an hour before kick-off. I had my ticket, but all of a sudden a group of people
without tickets arrived and tried to force their way through and we found
ourselves pushed up against the fences," said the supporter, who gave his
name as Stephane.
"I was crushed up
against a woman who said she couldn't breathe. Eventually the gate gave in and
I was able to get through, but it was complete chaos."
'Crisis meeting'
President Biya has
"ordered the opening of an investigation so that all light is shed on this
tragic incident," the communications minister said.
The Confederation of African
Football (CAF), which runs the continent's flagship competition, said it was
"investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what
transpired".
It added it was in
"constant communication with Cameroon government and the Local Organizing
Committee".
Cameroon's health minister
Manaouda Malachie tweeted images showing him visiting a hospital treating those
injured in the incident.
"Everything is done to
give them free care and the best support," he tweeted.
CAF was due to hold a
"crisis meeting" with the organizing committee on Tuesday, dedicated
exclusively to security issues in the stadiums, a source close to African
football's governing body told AFP.
Deadly crowding
The government, Sadi said,
is "once more appealing to Cameroonians' sense of responsibility,
discipline and civic duty for the total success of this great sporting
event."
Cameroon was initially meant
to host the Cup of Nations in 2019, but the event was moved to Egypt over concerns
the country's stadiums were not ready.
CAF cited delays in the
construction of stadiums and infrastructure projects, as well as question marks
over security.
Overcrowding at football
matches around the world has resulted in scores of deaths.
Thousands of fans in the
Egyptian capital Cairo in 2015 attempted to enter a stadium to watch a game,
triggering panic as police fired tear gas and birdshot, resulting in 19 dead.
In April 2001, 43 people
died in a stampede at Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium during a game between
Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
In chaotic scenes at last
year's
European Championship final between England and Italy in London, some
2,000 ticketless fans were found to have gained access to Wembley Stadium, with
an independent review later finding that a tragedy was only narrowly averted.
On the pitch on Monday,
Cameroon sealed their place in the last eight of the tournament with a 2-1 win
and will now play Gambia in the quarter-finals.
That match is due to be
played on Saturday in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, although there had
been speculation that remaining matches scheduled to be played there could be
moved to Yaounde due to concerns about the state of the pitch.
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