Ivory Coast stadium stampede kills 22, injures 132

[March 30, 2009]  ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- The prime minister of Ivory Coast was convening an emergency Cabinet meeting Monday after 22 people were killed and 132 injured during a stadium stampede at a World Cup qualifying match.

Thousands of fans at the capital's main Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena pushed against each other shortly 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 went on despite the deaths and Ivory Coast won the match 5-0.

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro was holding the emergency meeting later Monday, according to state TV.

In Zurich, FIFA demanded a full report from sports and city authorities in the Ivory Coast into what caused the stadium tragedy and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter offered his condolences.

"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," he said in a statement.

Stadium accidents are far too common in Africa, where soccer is intimately entwined with national myth.

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

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 stampeding.

When the World Cup comes to South Africa in 2010, 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.

[Associated Press; By BENOIT HILI]

Associated Press writer Stuart Moir contributed to this report from Johannesburg.

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