More than 50 dead in football stampede when fans disagreed with ref’s decision
Up to 100 people are feared to have died in a stampede after a football match in Guinea.
The official death toll from the crush in Nzérékoré, the second-largest city in the West African country, is 56.
But the death toll may be as high as 100, one doctor said.
He said: ‘There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital. Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The morgue is full.’
Clashes broke out after a controversial referee decision during a match between NZérékoré and Labé, a city in central Guinea.
This sparked fury from the crowd, with fans throwing stones and invading the pitch before security forces used tear gas, Africaguinee reported.
Fans tried to escape the violence by racing into the stadium’s only exit, causing a violent stampede.
Distressing images on social media appear to show bodies lined up on the ground, with several children among them.
Other footage shows fans attempting to climb over walls at the stadium and a police station was set on fire.
Guinea Prime Minister Mamadou Oury Bah said the government ‘deplores the incidents that marred the football match.’
‘During the stampede, victims were recorded,’ he said on X.
The match was in honour of the country’s military leader Mamady Doumbouya – Guinea has been ruled by the military since 2021.
Guinea’s National Alliance for Alternation and Democracy (ANAD), a coalition of opposition parties, condemned the incident.
Referring to the ruling military junta, the bloc said: ‘The CNRD, and in particular General Mamadi Doumbouya, as well as all those who work to violate this commitment by committing perjury, bear a heavy responsibility in these serious events.
‘They will have to answer for it before the people of Guinea.’
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