Angola Stampede Before Football Match Kills 17

MEP: A crowd stampeded at a football stadium before a league match in the northern Angolan city of Uige, has killed at least 17 people dead and dozens injured.

According to hospital sources, some 76 people got trampled, as hundreds of fans stormed stadium gates to try and get to a football match. People had to walk over one another and got suffocated as the crowd surged.

Witnesses said the crowd trying to gain access would have taken the stadium past its 8,000 capacity.

Ernesto Luis, director general of the local hospital, told Reuters people had suffocated in the crush.

“Some people had to walk on top of other people,” he said. “There were 76 casualties, of whom 17 died.” Five of the injured were in a serious condition.

Voice of America in Portuguese reported that the game had not been immediately halted after the incident began to unfold. It stated that the majority of the victims are suspected to be children, who wanted to sneak into the stadium to watch the game.

Angop says President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has instructed officials to assist the injured and to open an investigation.