Madasagar: As many as 12 people were killed and around 80 people injured in a stampede at a stadium in Madagascar on Friday during the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games, according to local media.
According to reports, the country’s Prime Minister Christian Natchez confirmed the death toll. About 80 people were injured in the unfortunate incident, out of which the condition of 11 is critical, the PM said.
President Andry Rajoelina, who came to attend the opening ceremony held at the Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, expressed grief over the accident and appealed to the people present in the stadium to observe a moment’s silence for those who lost their lives.
The stadium, which has a capacity of around 41,000 people, has seen similar incidents in the past as well in 2019, when 15 people died in a stampede during a concert.
According to the information, the incident happened when 50 thousand people were trying to get entry into the inauguration of the Indian Ocean Island Games.
Indian Ocean Island Games is a multi-disciplinary competition that is scheduled till December 3 in Madagascar. It was initiated by the International Olympic Committee in 1977. Athletes from Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Reunion, and Maldives took part in the competition.
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