At least 13 people died in a crush at a stadium in Madagascar on Friday as sports fans gathered for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games, local media reported.
The reports said that Madagascar Prime Minister Christian Ntsay announced the deaths.
Ntsay said that about 80 people had been injured, 11 of them critically.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina was at the ceremony at the Kianja Barea Mahamasina Stadium in the capital, Antananarivo, and asked the crowd to observe a few moments of silence for the dead.
“A tragic event occurred because there was pushing. There were injuries and deaths at the entrance,” Rajoelina said in a televised speech.
Seven children were among those who were killed.
“So far, 13 people have been killed and 107 injured,” Hanitra Razafimanantsoa, a member of parliament, told a local radio station.
The Red Cross, which was on the scene, said that “we don’t yet have the final list. Seven minors died.”
The stampede occurred at the entrance to the stadium, where about 50,000 people had arrived to attend the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.
The cause of the tragedy was not immediately known, but the Red Cross said that the toll could climb.
“There were a lot of people at the entrance, which triggered a stampede,” said Antsa Mirado, a communications manager with the Red Cross.
TV images broadcast images of dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled among objects lost in the deadly crush.
Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with people.
The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multi-disciplinary competition being held in Madagascar until Sept. 3. They have been staged every four years in different islands in the southwest Indian Ocean for about 40 years. The previous edition took place in Mauritius.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to