19 dead in Ivory Coast

[Jah Gol]

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - At least 19 people were killed on Sunday in a stampede at an overcrowded stadium during an international soccer match in Ivory Coast, officials said.

"We have 19 dead and many seriously injured," a military source at the stadium said. The crush occurred after part of a wall collapsed when ticketless fans stormed one of the entrances to the 45,000-capacity Houphouet-Boigny arena in the West African country's main city, Abidjan.

"Spectators who did not buy tickets were jostling before the match," Sports Minister Dagobert Banzio said on state television. "They smashed one of the main gates of the stadium. They were trampled."

He put the number of injured at 132.

"There were lots of supporters outside who wanted to get in," Interior Minister Desire Tagro said. "There was a crush."

Ivory Coast defeated Malawi 5-0 in the World Cup qualifier.

Riots and crushes are common at African soccer stadiums, which are frequently overcrowded.

Last September, 11 people were killed in a stadium riot in Democratic Republic of Congo and in June eight people died in a crush in Liberia.

South Africa is spending several billion rand on building new venues and infrastructure for the soccer World Cup which it is due to host in 2010.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE52S21520090329

[WestCoast]

VERY SAD indeed...............what is maybe just as sad is the game was played anyway (having said that, maybe more would have died if they did cancel the match)

Reports: 19 dead in stadium disaster
3 hours ago

Several supporters were believed to have died on Sunday night after a stadium tragedy in Ivory Coast.

According to reports, 19 people lost their lives when a wall collapsed at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan shortly before Ivory Coast beat Malawi 5-0 in a World Cup qualifying match.

Several English-based Ivory Coast players were involved in the match, including Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Arsenal defender Kolo Toure.

According to a PA Sport representative at the match, the incident occurred before kick-off, however the game was allowed to go ahead.

The stadium was sold out in advance of the game after cut-price tickets were put on sale.

Ivory Coast's team, coached by Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, are looking to secure one of Africa's berths for the World Cup finals which take place next year in South Africa.

They won today's match 5-0, with Drogba scoring twice.

Copyright © 2009 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iI7SejzblWCA9ambAPvDSlUmMJwg

Stampede At Ivory Coast Match Kills 19 People
Les Elephants' celebrations have turned to mourning in the aftermath of their World Cup qualifying win in Abidjan...
29 Mar 2009 23:13:01
Dreadful events marred Ivory Coast's 5-0 victory over Malawi yesterday, after a wall collapsed, sparking panic amongst the fans waiting to attend the match.
According to reports in The Daily Telegraph, part of the wall fell over, and, as collective anxiety grew into hysteria, policemen allegedly exacerbated the panic by firing tear gas into the crowd.
The tragedy occurred before the match kicked off, as supporters rushed to get into the arena. The huge queues that caused the disaster are largely, according to local sources, due to an inefficient ticketing system that means it is impossible for fans to reserve seats in advance, as numerical ordering systems are never adhered to.
Fans therefore wait outside for hours in the hope of landing one of the best seats.
At least 19 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the accident, though that number may rise, as it is so far a local press estimate and a definitive figure has not yet been reached. A further 134 individuals are reported as being injured.
What is perhaps surprising about the event is that the FHB Stadium in Abidjan had just been renovated for the CHAN tournament.
The match was attended by over 50,000 fans, many of whom were eager to see the return of Didier Drogba, a hero in his native land, who netted two of the Ivorians' goals in a result that pales into insignificance alongside this tragedy.
Zack Wilson, Goal.com
http://www.goal.com/en/news/89/africa/2009/03/30/1181827/stampede-at-ivory-coast-match-kills-19-people

[weary1969]

A word 2 d Wise is sufficient.

[truetrini]

FIFA demands answers after stampede kills 19
Associated Press
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Updated: March 30, 2009, 8:05 AM EST
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Women fainted with grief and wailed in sorrow Monday outside a morgue in Abidjan where the bodies of 19 soccer fans killed in a weekend stadium stampede were being held.

Mothers and sisters of the dead sobbed as they held each other, while fathers and brothers stood, their eyes red with sorrow.

There have been 19 confirmed dead following Sunday's stampede, but little update on the 130 or so who were reported as injured -- like the spectator pictured here. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP / Getty Images)

World soccer body FIFA demanded an investigation into Sunday's tragedy and the prime minister of Ivory Coast convened an emergency Cabinet meeting Monday to look into the stampede that left 19 dead and at least 132 injured at a World Cup qualifying match.

Thousands of fans at the capital's main Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena pushed against each other before Sunday's game between Ivory Coast and Malawi, setting off a panic that led to the stampede, Interior Minister Desire Tagro said on state television.

The melee prompted security forces to fire tear gas, which witnesses say forced fans to hurl themselves toward the field, causing a wall to come down and setting off a stampede.

Tagro gave the death toll Sunday, but there was no immediate update Monday on the condition of the injured. The game took place despite the deaths and Ivory Coast won 5-0.

Sunday' game drew tens of thousands because of the presence of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, a native of Ivory Coast who is seen as superstar in his home country. Drogba scored twice in the victory.

At the downtown morgue, family members were told to come and identify the dead. The morgue showed reporters a list of 19 names - including two children, the youngest of whom was age 10.

Momodou Kamara, who waited outside the morgue, blamed police for his brother's death. "My brother left to go to the stadium with his friends. At the entrance, they were attacked by security forces. That's what set off the stampede," he said.

Diarassouba Adama, who was inside the stadium at the time, also blamed police for the deadly tragedy.

"We saw people falling from the top bleachers. The stampede was provoked by the security forces who threw tear gas canisters at us. I don't know why they fired on us," he said as stood vigil outside the morgue.

State TV announced that Prime Minister Guillaume Soro was holding an emergency cabinet meeting later Monday to deal with the national tragedy. In Zurich, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter offered his condolences and also demanded a full investigation into the stampede.

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"I wish to express extreme sorrow and extend our condolences to the Ivorian football community and, most importantly, to family, friends and loved ones following the tragic deaths in Abidjan," Blatter said in a statement.

It was the first match in the final stage of African qualifying for the 2010 World Cup being played in South Africa.

Stadium accidents are far too common in Africa, where soccer is intimately entwined with national pride. In June last year, 10 people died in an overcrowded stadium in Monrovia before a World Cup qualifying match between Liberia and Gambia. That match also went ahead after the tragedy.

In South Africa, the organizer of the next World Cup pledged that the problems that too often lead to stadium stampedes in Africa won't be an issue during the continent's first World Cup in 2010.

Danny Jordaan told reporters Monday that many African fans buy their tickets only when they reach the stadium, creating an impatient crowd outside that can lead to stampedes.

For the 2010 World Cup, match tickets will have to be purchased well in advance of the first whistle and those without tickets will be stopped far away from the stadiums, he said.

The worst stadium disaster in Africa killed 127 people in Accra, Ghana in 2001.

[weary1969]

Dey need a 800-fans. As 4 d answers we all want dem but will we get dem.

[Deeks]

Sometimes when FIFA demand stadium rules we does groan. But say wha.... if these associations don't care about their fans well-being what can we do or say. Just pack them in  like sardines and make money!!!!!!!!

[Jahyouth]

"Spectators who did not buy tickets were jostling before the match," Sports Minister Dagobert Banzio said on state television. "They smashed one of the main gates of the stadium. They were trampled."

He put the number of injured at 132.

"There were lots of supporters outside who wanted to get in," Interior Minister Desire Tagro said. "There was a crush."


This remind yall of anything?

November 19th, 1989

Jah know why we didn't score, or win that game.

The stadium had over 32,000 in it.  Over capacity by my guess by 6 - 8,000.  No aisles, passageways, nuttin.

One goal... one wiodness... cause the crowd was hype

[asylumseeker]

Well, there has been some accountability ... sentences were handed down last week:

According to the BBC:

An Ivory Coast football official has been sent to jail for six months for printing fake tickets for a match marred by a deadly stadium stampede.

Albert Kacou Anzouan, head of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) match organising committee, was also fined $1,000 for manslaughter and fraud.
 ....

Thousands of "parallel" tickets were printed, the state prosecutor said. Faustin Aka, responsible for printing the tickets, was also given the same sentence.

The state prosecutor primarily blamed the deaths on fans without tickets who forced their way into the stadium.

A reported 36,000 fans tried to cram into the Houphouet-Boigny stadium, which has a capacity for 34,600, to see Ivory Coast beat Malawi 5-0.

Our reporter says Anzouan was also found guilty of theft by the correctional court.

The state prosecutor had called for a one-year sentence, reports the AFP news agency.

Two other people from a sub-contractor involved in the printing of tickets were given three-month suspended sentences.

FIF Director General Ardjouma Kone was found not guilty, along with chief accountant Andoh Beugre and three others, AFP reports.

Three members of the police and security forces will be judged by another court, our reporter says.

On Wednesday, football's world governing body Fifa fined the FIF $47,000 following the enquiry into the stadium tragedy.

It imposed a series of safety measures and also announced a donation of $96,000 to a fund set up for the families of the victims.

[Coop's]

Sometimes when FIFA demand stadium rules we does groan. But say wha.... if these associations don't care about their fans well-being what can we do or say. Just pack them in  like sardines and make money!!!!!!!!

        We was just lucky it did not happen at home,the Youth World Cup that was played in T&T had incidents similar to this,the problem is there will always be scalpers/stormers/waggonists etc how can or do we control that may be someone has the answer,we can't say Jack pack people like Sardines and make money when half the crowd in Football get their tickets from scalpers,that happens the world over.The thing is when the poor man wants to see a game with the kind of prices it have he going to find a way to do so,wheather he has to storm or something.

[davidephraim]

Sometimes when FIFA demand stadium rules we does groan. But say wha.... if these associations don't care about their fans well-being what can we do or say. Just pack them in  like sardines and make money!!!!!!!!

        We was just lucky it did not happen at home,the Youth World Cup that was played in T&T had incidents similar to this,the problem is there will always be scalpers/stormers/waggonists etc how can or do we control that may be someone has the answer,we can't say Jack pack people like Sardines and make money when half the crowd in Football get their tickets from scalpers,that happens the world over.The thing is when the poor man wants to see a game with the kind of prices it have he going to find a way to do so,wheather he has to storm or something.

So true.