/ 8 March 2005

Two children die after stampede in Madagascar

Two children died on Monday from injuries sustained in a stampede at an overcrowded soccer stadium.

Another 45 people were injured in the stampede at Sunday’s match between South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs and Madagascar’s USJF Ravinala.

When officials tried to close the doors, hundreds of fans still waiting outside tried to force their way into the 20&nbsb;000 seat stadium.

Most of the injuries were not serious, staff at Antananarivo’s Ravohongy hospital said.

The ages of the children who died were not known.

The match continued despite the violence, with the South African side winning 1-0.

Stampedes are not uncommon in overcrowded sports stadiums in Africa.

In 2001, 123 people died in Accra, Ghana, in a stampede after police fired tear gas into the stands in response to fans who threw bottles and chairs onto the field.

The same year, 43 people were killed and 155 injured in Johannesburg, South Africa, when fans tried to push into the overcrowded Ellis Park stadium.

In 2004, four people were killed and eight others injured during a stampede at the end of a World Cup qualifying game in Lome, Togo. – Sapa-AP