At least 12 people were killed and around 80 injured in a stampede at Madagascar’s national stadium, officials said. The cause is still unclear.
There was a mass panic at the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games in Madagascar. According to government sources, twelve people were killed. About 80 were injured. Eleven of the injured are in critical condition, said Prime Minister Christian Ntsay.
According to the report, the tragedy happened at the entrance of the Mahamasina Stadium in the capital Antananarivo during the opening ceremony of the sports competitions. The exact cause of the mass panic was initially unclear. Around 50,000 spectators flocked to the opening event.
Not the first stampede in the stadium
This is not the first time a fatal accident has occurred at the stadium. In 2019, 16 people died there during a crowd at a concert to celebrate Madagascan National Day.
The Island Games were established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and are held every four years. The sports competition involves seven island nations in the south-west Indian Ocean: Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Reunion and the Maldives.