At least 61 crushed to death in Ivory Coast stampede
Terrible news out of the Ivory Coast yesterday, reported by Loucoumane Coulibaly and Alain Amontchi for Reuters:
At least 61 people were crushed to death in a stampede after a New Year’s Eve fireworks display at a stadium in Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan early on Tuesday, officials said.
Witnesses said police had tried to control crowds around the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium following the celebrations, triggering a panic in which scores were trampled.
“The estimate we can give right now is 49 people hospitalized … and 61 people dead,” said the chief of staff of Abidjan’s fire department Issa Sacko.
I’m scheduling this post on January 1, so hopefully the death toll hasn’t gone up any more by the time this hits Tumblr.