At least 13 people, including seven children, were killed on Friday in a horrific incident during a sports event.
Dozens of sports fans trying to enter the national stadium in Madagascar’s capital city, Antananarivo, were crushed in a stampede, which left at least 107 people injured, opposition MP Hanitra Razafimanantsoa said on a local radio station.
The Red Cross, which attended the scene, confirmed “seven minors died”.
The country’s Prime Minister, Christian Ntsay, had initially said 12 people were killed and approximately 80 had been left injured in the crush, including 11 deemed in critical condition.
The sports lovers were heading to the Kianja Barea Mahamasina stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games, a multi-disciplinary competition being held every four years in the island nations and territories of Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion and the Maldives.
Harrowing videos shared on social media showed emergency workers assisting many affected people after setting up next to the athletics track at the stadium.
Others were filmed in shock as they tried to locate their shoes piled among objects lost in the deadly stampede.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the deadly crush at the stadium, which has a capacity of 41,000.
Antsa Mirado, a communications manager with the Red Cross, which warned the number of casualties may still rise, told AFP: “There were a lot of people at the entrance, which triggered a stampede.”
Reports said a crowd of around 50,000 spectators had arrived at the stadium to attend the much-anticipated event.
The opening ceremony carried on despite the incident, but was acknowledged by Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina.
He said: “An unfortunate event happened. There was a stampede at the entrance. There were a lot of injuries. We will observe a few seconds of silence because compatriots have died when they wanted to enter.”
The country’s prime minister was later filmed speaking with family members of the victims outside of the morgue.
The Games, first created by the International Olympic Committee in 1977, will last until September 3.
This isn’t the first incident of this kind happening at this Madagascar stadium.
In September 2018, one person died and some 40 more were injured as the national football team was preparing to face Senegal in the qualifying round of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The crush happened as thousands of spectators were trying to get into the stadium through the only entrance.
French radio station RFI reported claims of a rush to enter the stadium when the gates were opened.
