At least 12 people have been killed and 80 injured after a stampede of sport fans trying to enter Madagascar’s national stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.
The stampede occurred at the entrance to the Barea stadium on Friday where a crowd of about 50 thousand spectators had arrived to attend the event.
The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multi-disciplinary competition being held in Madagascar through September 3.
They were created by the International Olympic Committee in 1977, and include athletes. TV broadcast showed dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled amongst objects lost in the deadly crush.
Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with spectators.
At least 15 people were killed in a similar incident at the Mahamasina stadium in 2019.