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Images shared on social media, which Reuters could not
immediately authenticate, showed a panicked crowd trying to
squeeze through a narrow entrance gate at the newly built Olembe
stadium in Yaounde that was hosting a round of 16 game between
Cameroon and Comoros.
One video showed dozens of fans scrambling over the stadium
fence as a police officer walked by.
The stampede comes as a heavy blow for the tournament, which had
grown in excitement on the pitch in recent days thanks to some
match upsets but which was under scrutiny for a lack of
readiness beforehand.
COVID-19 and insecurity caused by a separatist insurgency also
complicated preparations.
Work on the 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium continued right up to the
start of Africa's top soccer tournament, prompting the
Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent's soccer
governing body, to hold an emergency meeting to discuss
cancelling the competition altogether.
"CAF is currently investigating the situation and trying to get
more details on what transpired. We are in constant
communication with Cameroon government and the Local Organising
Committee," it said in a statement.
THE SHOCK, THE WEIGHT
High school teacher Vanessa Tchouanzi had come to see the match
on Monday. She was barely able to get her words out as she
recounted her experience over the phone to Reuters.
Tchouanzi tried to enter the stadium with a friend, but said
that gate attendees were too overwhelmed by the mass of people
to check tickets.
As fans rushed the entrance, Tchouanzi and her friend were
knocked to the ground. A bystander helped Tchouanzi escape, but
her friend was trampled to death, she said.
"She couldn't take the shock, the weight of all those people,"
Tchouanzi said through a flood of tears.
The government did not give any information on the cause of the
crush or whether fans were allowed into the stadium without
tickets. It is not clear why the match went ahead after the
disaster.
Following a low turnout in the first round games at brand new
stadiums, Cameroon authorities have thrown open stadium gates,
organised mass transport and given out free tickets to lure
fans.
Cameroon beat 10-man Comoros Islands 2-1 to advance to the
quarter-finals.
(Reporting by Josiane Kouagheu; writing by Bate Felix and Cooper
Inveen; editing by Edward McAllister, Richard Pullin and Nick
Macfie)
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