Almost eight killed in crush at Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon stadium
Videos showed crowds of screaming football fans being crushed at the entry gates to the Paul Biya stadium in the capital Yaounde. Witnesses described chaotic scenes outside the ground as thousands of fans struggled to get access.
Of the 38 people who were injured, seven are in serious condition. According to officials quoted by the AFP news agency, one child is among the dead. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000, but because of Covid restrictions, it was not meant to be more than 80% complete for the game on Monday.
Match officials said that some 50,000 people were trying to attend Dutch journalist Buster Emil Kirchner said he saw "a lot of chaos" by the stadium's gates as fans clamoured to enter the ground.
"It was hectic people running, people climbing fences, people breaking through the barricades," he said, adding he saw many people without tickets trying to "force themselves in".
Journalist Leocadia Bongben told the Newsday programme that she saw the commotion coming from one of the fan zone areas outside the stadium.
"People started shouting. A minute after that, an ambulance came to the stadium, but when we got to the place, the police would not allow us to get close to where the stampede was," she said."It's quite a sad situation that people go to watch a game, and they end up dying there."
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