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Yaoundé, Cameroon-Eight people were killed after a crowd accident outside the match at the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Cameroon. ..
Officials said Tuesday that they were in serious condition at the hospital after the other seven were crushed.
According to police, the number of deaths increased after two more fans were sentenced to death outside Messasi Hospital. The injured were initially rushed to a nearby hospital to help police and civilians. The hospital was quickly overwhelmed and said it could not handle all casualties.
A total of 38 people were injured in a stampede on Monday night at Olembet Stadium in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. The remaining 31 were slightly to moderately injured. The injured are currently being treated in four different hospitals, said Communications Minister Rene Sadi.
A crash occurred when football fans struggled to enter the stadium to see the Cameroonian team play Comoros in the long-awaited knockout game at a top African football tournament.
Local television stations have reported overwhelming police as they broadcast footage showing people jumping over security fences to participate in the game. The Cameroonian government said there were 57,000 people in the stadium when the virus was supposed to limit the crowd to up to 40,000. Olembe has a capacity of 60,000.
According to witnesses, the crowd accident at the south entrance of the stadium occurred after guards directed supporters towards the locked entrance gate. According to witnesses, the gates were opened, surged, and people were trampled. According to witnesses, the children were involved in a crowd accident.
“When the guards finally started to open the gate, with all the anxieties, after being locked out … people pushed the guards away and pushed them in,” said witness Marie Therese Asongafak. “That was the beginning of everything … By the time I found myself in front of me, there were people who were trampled on the ground.”
Medical assistance was not immediately available, “so people were trying their basic first aid to the victims,” Asongafack said. “I saw a child under the age of 10 dead. The men were trying to revive him.”
FIFA, the world football organization, has issued a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences” to the victims’ families and friends. FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup at the Olembé Stadium two weeks ago.
Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, called for an emergency press conference late Tuesday.
President Paul Biya of Cameroon ordered an investigation into the tragedy that occurred the day after at least 17 people died after a series of explosions at a nightclub in Yaoundé.
The country of Central Africa has hosted the Africa Cup for the first time in 50 years, and its preparations have been scrutinized for years. Cameroon was scheduled to host a tournament in 2019, but due to serious problems in preparing Cameroon, especially in and around the stadium, the event of the year was removed and awarded to Egypt.
Olembé Stadium, the main stadium for the tournament and the venue for the finals on February 6, was one of the arenas that the organizers were concerned about. The game is also played in four other cities.
Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Manauda Malakie, visited various hospitals where the injured were being treated. He said 31 of the 38 injured responded well to treatment, while others were in serious condition.
On Tuesday morning, people gathered at the hospital in search of a missing family member.
“I’m helpless. The police didn’t help me and I couldn’t keep track of my two brothers,” said Festus Ndi, a 24-year-old student at the University of Yaoundé.
By Edwin Kindzeka Moki and Isifu Wirfengla
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