Cameroon: Stampede at African Cup stadium leaves at least 6 dead

At least six people were killed in a stampede outside a stadium where an African Cup of Nations match was played in Cameroon, an official reported Monday, raising concerns about the country’s ability to Central Africa to host the largest sporting event on the continent.

Naseri Paul Biya, governor of the central region of Cameroon, said there could be more victims.

“We are not in a position to give the total number of victims,” ​​he said.

The stampede came as crowds tried to enter the Olembe stadium in the capital Yaoundé to watch the host country’s match against the Comoros Islands, the last of the round of 16 of Africa’s top national team soccer tournament.

Employees at the nearby Messassi hospital said they had received at least 40 wounded people and that they were taken to the hospital by police and civilians. They noted that the hospital did not have the capacity to treat everyone.

“Some of the injured are in serious condition,” said Olinga Prudence, a nurse at the hospital. “We will have to transfer them to a specialized hospital.”

Witnesses at the stadium said that there were children among those who were trapped in the stampede and that it happened when the custodians closed the doors and did not allow more people to enter.

Soccer authorities said that approximately 50,000 people had tried to attend the match. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000, but was to have a capacity limited to 80% due to restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The African Football Confederation, which organizes the African Cup, said in a statement that it was aware of the incident.

“CAF is investigating the situation and trying to receive more details of what happened,” he said. “We are in continuous communication with the government of Cameroon and the local Organizing Committee.”

One of the federation’s top officials, General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba, visited the injured fans in hospital, the statement added.

Cameroon hosted the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 50 years. It should have received the tournament in 2019, but they took away the event that was awarded to Egypt due to concerns about the preparation of Cameroon, especially in the stadiums.

The Olombe stadium was one of the venues under investigation.

Monday’s incident was the second most serious for the country in less than a day. At least 17 people were killed after a series of explosions occurred at a nightclub in Yaoundé on Sunday.

Following the incident, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya urged the country to keep its guard up as it hosts the country’s biggest sporting event in 50 years.

Cameroon won 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament.