At Least Eight People Dead in Stampede At Cameroon Sports Stadium
Washington — Several people are dead in Cameroon after football fans crammed the gates of a new stadium to watch the home country play a match in the African Cup of Nations tournament.
State broadcaster CRTV says eight people were killed as thousands of fans attempted to enter Yaounde Olembe Stadium in the capital Yaounde Monday to see Cameroon take on Comoros in a round of 16 game.
Scores of other people were injured in the stampede and taken to nearby hospitals.
The Confederation of African Football, which runs the African Cup, issued a statement saying it is “currently investigating the situation in order to obtain more details” about the stampede, and was in “constant communication” with Cameroonian authorities.
Officials had intended to cap the amount of people allowed inside the 60,000-seat stadium to around 80 percent capacity due to concerns about the COVID-19 concerns.
Monday’s tragedy comes just a day after at least 17 people were killed and eight others injured in a nightclub fire in Yaounde.
By VOA.
