AFCON football stadium crush kills eight in Cameroon

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AFCON football stadium crush kills eight in Cameroon
AFCON football stadium crush kills eight in Cameroon

Africa-Press – Botswana. A disaster in Cameroon yesterday left eight people dead and 38 injured in a stadium accident at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament.

The accident, which occurred at an entry gate to the Paul Biya stadium in the capital Yaoundé, ahead of a match between Cameroon and Comoros, has left fans shaken up.

Videos circulating online show the panic and confusion as people struggled to exit the stadium gates, which some present at the match have speculated caused the crush. Others stood still, unaware of the crisis unfolding in front of them.

Six people are reported to have been killed and dozens hurt in a crush outside a stadium hosting an Africa Cup of Nations match in Cameroon.

Two children, aged six and 14, are among the dead, and seven of those injured remain in critical condition. The stadium, which has a capacity of 60,000 people, had planned for a capacity of 80% due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. According to official reports, 50,000 fans attempted to attend yesterday’s match.

Football scout Ed Dove was at the match and watched the chaos unfold. He says the crush occurred because of poor organisation – many people went to the grounds without tickets, and Covid-19 testing is said to have created bottlenecks. In addition, the east gate of the stadium was closed, which was unplanned.

He said: “It was meant to be a historic game, a lot of people came to see the ambience. A policeman said to me that either a gate or a barrier had come down and fallen on people at the front.”

“After the incident, people were being removed from the stadium, wrapped in silver foil.”

Some of the things I witnessed at the Stade d’Olembe in Yaounde this evening.

One young teenager, hooked to an ECG machine, stretched to a medical facility over three hours after the match.

Red Cross medics worked until almost midnight trying to stabilise victims, save lives. pic.twitter.

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