Two children and three adults were killed in a stampede at a weekend football match in the Angolan capital Luanda, sparking an investigation, authorities said Monday.
The
crush occurred Saturday as fans were leaving the CAF Champions League
quarter-final match between Primeiro Agosto of Angola and TP Mazembe of
the Democratic Republic of Congo, the sports ministry said. The incident
"caused the death by asphyxiation of five supporters and caused seven
injuries at the end of the match," the ministry said in a statement. The
two children were aged 10 and 12, it said.
One
survivor who gave his name only as Nemo, speaking to TV channel Zimbo
from his hospital bed, said: "The exit door was very small, many people
fell." The history of African football is marked by frequent deadly
crowd stampedes. In Angola in February 2017, 17 people were killed and
58 injured near the northern town of Uige ahead of a season-opening
match for the national championship.
Earlier
this month, at least one person was killed and 37 injured in a stampede
ahead of an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Madagascar's capital
Antananarivo.
And in July last year,
eight people were killed when rival supporters clashed during Senegal's
League Cup final, and a stampede caused a wall to fall on escaping
fans.
The scramble came after police used tear gas to clear the area surrounding the stadium.
In
2009, 19 people died in the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan after a
crush in a qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup between Ivory Coast
and Malawi.