YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Eight people have now died after a stampede outside a game at the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Cameroon, while another seven people are in serious condition in the hospital, authorities said Tuesday.
The death toll increased after two more fans were pronounced dead outside the Messassi hospital, police said. Injured people had initially been rushed to that hospital by police and civilians trying to help. The hospital quickly became overwhelmed and said it couldn’t handle all the casualties.
A total of 38 people were hurt in the stampede, which happened Monday night at the Olembe Stadium in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde. The remaining 31 people had light to moderate injuries. The injured are now being treated at four different hospitals, Communication Minister René Sadi said.
The crush came when soccer fans struggled to get into the stadium to watch Cameroon’s team play Comoros in a highly-anticipated knockout game at Africa’s top soccer tournament. The tragedy may have been connected to fans trying to avoid Covid-19 checks to watch the game. Local organisers have made it compulsory that fans show proof of negative virus tests and be vaccinated against Covid-19 if they want to attend games at the African Cup. They need to go through sanitary checks as well as security checks at stadiums.
Discussion about this post