At least 6 killed at Kenyan's national stadium
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A man walks at the scene of a stampede at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi October 23, 2010. Seven soccer fans were killed and dozens more were injured in a stampede at a match between two of Kenya's top teams, AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia, an ambulance operator said on Saturday. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo] |
At least six fans were announced dead with several injured after a stampede at the gate of the Nyayo National Stadium, venue of a Kenya Premier League match pitting old rivals AFC L eopards against Gor Mahia here in Nairobi.
The accurate number of casualty is still unknown as local media put the death toll at seven.
With the match played at night, it was hard to get the authorities to confirm but leading media house Nation, announced in its digital section that six people are feared dead and several rushed to nearby Nairobi West Hospital.
This is the second time that people died at the stadium, which was banned in 2008 by world soccer governing body FIFA after another stampede left one dead when Harambee Stars played Atlas Lions of Morroco.
With only a small section covered by the roof, majority of the fans are in the open and ran away when it started to rain. But when the rain stopped, they all rushed back almost at the same time just before the 7 p.m. kick off and overwhelmed the security check up. They thus forced open one gate and everyone tried to rush in causing a stampede, where the six are believed to have fallen down and the charging crowd stepped on them.
The two Nairobi-based teams are the biggest in the country owing to their huge fan base.
