Jordan News

At least six people were killed and dozens of others injured, in a stampede Monday in front of a sports stadium in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, ahead of the start of the African Nations Cup soccer match between the national team and the Comoros team, state television announced.

“A stampede at the entrance to an Olympic stadium” left “six dead and dozens injured”, the official Cameroonian broadcaster CRTV said, noting that the Cameroonian government and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) were “following up on the situation of the wounded in the city’s hospitals.”

Pictures circulated on social media showed fans screaming and being crushed at the entrance gate.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said in a statement that it was aware of an incident that occurred at the stadium.

“CAF is currently investigating the situation and is trying to obtain more details about what happened,” the statement read. We are in constant contact with the Cameroonian government and the local organizing committee.”

After a low turnout for the first-round matches in the new stadiums built for the continental championship, the Cameroonian authorities opened the gates of the stadium, organized mass transfers and granted free tickets to attract fans.

Cameroon beat ten players from Comoros 2-1 to advance to the quarter-finals.