Eight football fans dead in Senegal after a wall collapsed at stadium

kwame

July 16, 2017 9:47 AM

Senegal witnessed a stadium disaster that killed eight people. Sports Minister has promised to make sure it does not repeat itself.

Eight football fans dead in Senegal after wall collapsed at stadium

African country Senegal had a dark day in sports on Saturday, July 16, 2017, after their Sports Minister confirmed the death of eight people in a disaster.

Fans clashed at the Demba Diop stadium in Dakar at the end of the football league cup final between local team Ouakam and Stade de Mbour as police fired tear gas at both sets of fans triggering a stampede.

A wall at the stadium collapsed as the fans panicked to find their way out of the stadium, killing eight and injuring an estimated 60 people the disaster.

Some US Ouakam and Stade de Mbour fans began throwing stones at each other with the other spectators of the game leaving their seats in a rush to find safety according to reports from the scene. The police, in their bid to calm the situation, started firing tear gas which increased the panic at the stadium.

“All of a sudden, the wall fell. We knew some of our own had lost their lives because the wall fell directly onto people,” a witness at the scene Cheikh Maba Diop narrates.

Mara Die Diouf, a football fan who was at the game also talked about how there were not enough security measures for the final.

"What I find terrible is that we have this kind of final in this kind of stadium here where there isn't enough security,” Mara said.

Senegal’s legislative election was set to take place on July 30, 2017, but a spokesman for their President, Macky Sall said the elections would be postponed in respect of the victims of this tragedy.

The president also wants ‘punishments’ which will serve as a warning for future indiscipline acts.

Ba, Senegal’s Sports Minister has also vowed strong measures will be taken to prevent such a disaster repeating itself in Senegal.

kwame