Football
KweséESPN staff 6y

CAF Champions League: Five dead after Angolan stadium stampede

Five people died in a stampede at Estadio 11 de Novembro following the CAF Champions League quarter final first leg between Primeiro de Agosto and Tout Puissant Mazembe in Luanda on Saturday.

The tragedy came less than a week after one person was killed and 40 were injured in a stampede outside the Mahamasina Stadium, Antananarivo ahead of Madagascar's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Senegal.

According to Reuters, Angola's sports ministry reported a further seven people being released from hospital after being injured in the crush, as fans left the stadium after the 0-0 draw.

The sports ministry, who will be launching an investigation, believed that the game's delayed start time was partly to blame for the incident, with fans reportedly finding the stadium gates still closed as they attempted to leave the ground.

It is reported that some fans were trampled under police horses as they poured out of the stadium after the gates were opened.

African football is no stranger to stadium deaths, with poor crowd control, overzealous policing, and inadequate facilities leading to similar incidents across the continent over the past few decades.

Last year, eight fans died in a stampede at a game in Malawi, while the same number were killed at a Senegalese cup final. In February 2017, 17 Angolan supporters were killed in a similar incident in the northwestern town of Uige.

In July 2017, two fans were killed in South Africa during a crush at an entrance gate for a preseason friendly between Soweto sides Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at Soccer City.

The highest loss of life was in Ghana, at the Accra Sports Stadium, when 127 supporters died in 2001 after police fired teargas into the stands following a league match between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. 

^ Back to Top ^