At least 13 people died in a crush at a stadium in Madagascar on Friday as sports fans gathered for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games, local media reported.
The reports said that Madagascar Prime Minister Christian Ntsay announced the deaths.
Ntsay said that about 80 people had been injured, 11 of them critically.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina was at the ceremony at the Kianja Barea Mahamasina Stadium in the capital, Antananarivo, and asked the crowd to observe a few moments of silence for the dead.
“A tragic event occurred because there was pushing. There were injuries and deaths at the entrance,” Rajoelina said in a televised speech.
Seven children were among those who were killed.
“So far, 13 people have been killed and 107 injured,” Hanitra Razafimanantsoa, a member of parliament, told a local radio station.
The Red Cross, which was on the scene, said that “we don’t yet have the final list. Seven minors died.”
The stampede occurred at the entrance to the stadium, where about 50,000 people had arrived to attend the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.
The cause of the tragedy was not immediately known, but the Red Cross said that the toll could climb.
“There were a lot of people at the entrance, which triggered a stampede,” said Antsa Mirado, a communications manager with the Red Cross.
TV images broadcast images of dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled among objects lost in the deadly crush.
Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with people.
The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multi-disciplinary competition being held in Madagascar until Sept. 3. They have been staged every four years in different islands in the southwest Indian Ocean for about 40 years. The previous edition took place in Mauritius.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS