At least 6 reported dead in crush at Cameroon African Cup soccer match

Cameroon authorities said at least six people are dead as the result of a crush outside a stadium hosting an African Cup of Nations soccer match, The Associated Press reported. 

The crush happened as a crowd struggled to get into Olembe Stadium in the capital city of Yaounde to watch Cameroon play Comoros in the last round-of-16 knockout game in the soccer tournament. 

Soccer officials said that at least 50,000 people tried to attend the match. The stadium’s capacity is 60,000, but COVID-19 restrictions meant it should have been only 80 percent full, according to the AP. 

Officials at the nearby Messassi hospital said at least 40 people arrived at the facility injured from the incident. Police and civilians helped rush them to the hospital. 

“Some of the injured are in desperate condition,” hospital nurse Olinga Prudence told the AP. “We will have to evacuate them to a specialized hospital.”

This comes as the governor of the central region of Cameroon, Naseri Paul Biya, said there could more deaths from this incident. 

“We are not in position to give you the total number of casualties,” Biya said.

The latest incident follows a report of 17 civilians dead after a fire erupted at the Livs Night Club in Yaounde’s Bastos neighborhood on Sunday. 

In a statement, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which runs the African Cup of Nations tournament, said it is aware of the situation, the AP noted. 

“CAF is currently investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what transpired,” the CAF said in a statement. “We are in constant communication with Cameroon government and the Local Organizing Committee.”