On the ground, Cameroon won its round of 16 against the Comoros at the Olembé stadium in Yaoundé (2-1). On the other hand, Cameroon and football lost big outside the stadium on Monday evening. At least six people died in a stampede outside the Olembé stadium hosting the match, a Cameroonian official told the American agency Associated Press (AP) on Monday evening. Naseri Paul Biya, governor of the central region of Cameroon, indicated that there could be other victims.
The stampede happened as the crowd tried to gain access to the Stade d’Olembé in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé to watch the match between the host country and the Comoros in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations in soccer. Officials at nearby Messassi Hospital said they had received at least 40 injured people as a result of the stampede. “Some of the injured are in desperate condition,” nurse Olinga Prudence told AP. We will have to evacuate them to a specialized hospital. »
Officials of the AFCON organization said around 50,000 people tried to attend the game. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000, but was not expected to be more than 80% full for the game due to crowd size restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many Internet users also mentioned a deadly stampede at the entrance to the enclosure, photos and videos in support before the start of the meeting.
Supporters would have tried to force the entrance to the enclosure. In addition, the commentators of Canal + Afrique reported on this jostling, without giving more details. Some images, which we do not reproduce because of their potentially shocking nature, are worrying to say the least and raise fears of an even heavier toll.