22 die in stampede at Ivory Coast soccer match

[cali]

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company


Last Updated: Sunday, March 29, 2009 | 9:16 PM ET Comments32Recommend25The Associated Press

At least 22 people were killed and 132 injured Sunday in a stampede before a World Cup of soccer qualifying match in Ivory Coast, the country's interior minister announced on state television.

Desire Tagro said the main stadium in Abidjan was overrun with people who pushed against each other, setting off the panic that led to the stampede ahead of the Ivory Coast-Malawi game.

The match went ahead despite the tragedy, with Ivory Coast defeating Malawi 5-0.

"Lots of fans showed up," Tagro said. "They started pushing to get in because the match was about to start and each and every one of them wanted to get in."

An Associated Press photographer said people began shoving and pushing 40 minutes before the beginning of the game at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium. Police fired tear gas into one section of the crowd
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Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/03/29/soccer-stampede-ivory-coast.html

[tomm2thumbs]

1. geesh - that's a big nightmare

[Sultana]

2. Goddamn Africa

This shit needs to stop.

RIP

[Rebubula]

3. Goddamn Africa????

What the heck does that mean?

You do realize that people get trampled at sporting and religious events all around the world? It has happened in the US on several occasions.

I believe that your anger may be misplaced.

[Sultana]

5. If you don't know, I am African

So yea, Goddamn Africa is just about right. Almost every year there is a stampede in footie stadiums, the officials and Fifa need to fix this problem.

Lack of crowd control is the main problem.

[Rebubula]

6. Fair enough...

I do not disagree with your statement about crowd control.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[enlightenment]

9. Do they have terraces in the stadiums there?

It seems like the standing terraces are the problem - like the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Same issue; people crowding into the kop, crushing the people in front against the 'crowd control' fences and the advertising hoardings. Horrible and sad. The government mandated an end to terraces after that - now everything is seated. Not as much 'fun' perhaps, but they haven't had another incident caused by stampedes.

edited for spelling

[Blue_Tires]

4. there seems to be an incident like this every few years

hopefully people will up the security and start thinking of more efficient crowd control...

[slackmaster]

8. My jaw dropped when I read this in the morning fishwrap

The final score was given dryly in the last sentence, without any kind of qualifier like "despite the tragedy".