The death toll from a stampede at a children's carnival organized in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria, has risen to 35, police said Thursday.

Adewale Osifeso, the spokesman for the Oyo State police, told reporters in Ibadan that 35 minors had so far been "documented dead," while six others were critically injured and are receiving medical treatment.

"The case has been transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department in Iyaganku (in Ibadan), with the Deputy Commissioner of Police leading the investigation," Osifeso said, adding that eight people, identified as the organizers of the children's carnival, had been arrested.

The carnival took a tragic turn after the private organizers announced plans to distribute cash to 5,000 children, which triggered a chaotic rush to enter a high school, the venue of the funfair in the Basorun area of Ibadan, on Wednesday morning.

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