A stampede occurred at one of the entrances to the Barea stadium in Antananarivo, Madagascar, during the opening ceremony of the 11th Jeux des Iles de l’Océan Indien yesterday. According to provisional figures, twelve people were killed and 80 injured, ten of them seriously.
Twelve people were killed in the stampede. According to provisional figures, 80 people were injured, ten of them seriously.
The stampede occurred at one of the entrances to the stadium, as the public were making their way inside to watch the opening ceremony of the 11th Islands Games, which is still in progress.
Outside the stadium, the crowd was slow to disperse. Several hundred people were caught up in the rush. Once calm had returned, people had to retrieve their shoes and personal belongings scattered on the ground.
In the evening, the Madagascan Prime Minister visited the victims in hospital.
Inside the Barea stadium, as the opening ceremony of the 11th Jeux des Iles continued, Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina called for a minute’s silence from the audience, to pay tribute to the memory of the victims.
