The African Cup of Nations (CAN) is in mourning. A stampede that took place before the Cameroon-Comoros match in the round of 16 of the CAN, at the Yaoundé stadium in Cameroon, left eight dead and 38 injured on Monday, January 24, according to the Cameroonian Ministry of Communication. Here is what we know about this tragedy.
Difficulties entering the stadium
According to the Cameroonian Ministry of Health, the incident began at the southern entrance to the Olembé stadium, when the crowd had difficulty entering the enclosure of this place specially built for the CAN. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a gauge of 60% had been established, raised to 80% in the event of a match by Cameroonian players, while the stadium’s capacity is 60,000 seats.
According to Cameroonian journalist André Mirabeau Mahop, interviewed by RMC Sport, the stampede was “a little predictable given everything that happened at the stadium before the game”. “Lost people arrived half an hour or an hour before the game. When I came out half an hour before kick off, the stadium wasn’t quarter full, most people were still outside, there was a big crowd, describes the reporter, witness to the facts. We have strengthened the checking process [vérification], which delayed the entrance of spectators.”
“At one point, people came in droves wanting to enter. The police demanded that we only pass one person at a time, and there was a stampede.”
Cameroonian journalist André Mirabeau Mahopat RMC Sport
“Dozens of people” lying on the ground
Comorian commentator Kassim Oumouri was also on hand at the time of the tragedy. “I found myself near the gate, but on the safe side, and that’s when a young security guard opened one of the doors. Someone from security told him not to, but it was too late.” he detailed with the Associated Press (AP), reports The Team. According to the sports commentator, more than 400 people rushed to enter the enclosure.
“The person completely opened the second door of the gate and everyone rushed. And suddenly, it fell everywhere, with women, young people and people were screaming, they were crying. People were falling down. on top of each other.”
Kassim Oumouri, Comorian sports commentatorat the AP agency
“The security barriers were pushed to one side and fell. The people on the left brought down the barrier on the people on the right and stepped on them, continues journalist André Mirabeau Mahop with RMC Sport. I saw several dozen people lying on the ground, a quarter of an hour before kick-off, it was going all over the place.”
The AP Agency (link in English) also reports people lying motionless on the ground near a stadium entrance. According to an AFP journalist present on site, there was no trace of the incident near the stadium after the final whistle of the match.
Eight dead and 38 injured
“Eight deaths are recorded”, including that of a child, announced the Ministry of Health in a report consulted by AFP. Thirty-eight people were also injured in the tragedy, seven of them seriously, according to a press release from the Cameroonian Minister of Communication, René Emmanuel Sadi.
A baby was trampled by the crowd during the health pass check outside the stadium, also reports the Ministry of Health. The baby, “immediately extirpated and taken to Yaoundé General Hospital” is in a state “medically stable”, the ministry said.
The victims were “immediately transported” in ambulances, but “heavy road traffic has slowed down transport”, according to the government. “Some of the injured are in very serious condition,” told a nurse from the Messassi hospital to the AP agency.
An ongoing investigation
In a statement, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said it had “learned of the incidents that occurred at the Olembé stadium”, Monday evening. “CAF is currently investigating the situation in order to obtain more details on these incidents, she continues. We are in constant communication with the Cameroonian authorities and the local organizing committee.”
Cameroonian President Paul Biya also “prescribes the opening of an investigation so that all the light is shed on this tragic incident”, said the Minister of Communication. The Cameroonian government “call one more time” Cameroonians “the sense of responsibility, discipline and good citizenship of all for the total success of this great sporting festival”.