Antananarivo [Madagascar], August 26 : A stampede of sports fans trying to enter Madagascar's national stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games has killed 12 people and injured 80, Al Jazeera reported.
The stampede occurred at the Barea stadium’s entrance on Friday where a crowd of about 50,000 spectators had arrived to attend the event.
Madagascar’s Prime Minister Christian Ntsay told reporters at a hospital in Antananarivo: “The provisional toll shows 12 dead and some 80 injured.”
The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multi-disciplinary competition being held in Madagascar through September 3.
They were created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977, and include athletes from Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion and the Maldives.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina, who was present at the opening ceremony, called for a minute of silence. “A tragic event occurred because there was pushing. There were injuries and deaths at the entrance,” he said in a televised speech, as per Al Jazeera.
People were seen trying to locate their shoes piled amongst objects lost in the deadly crush.
Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with spectators.
At least 15 people were killed in a similar incident at the Mahamasina stadium in 2019, as per Al Jazeera.
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