KINSHASA, Congo: Seven people were killed and many others were injured during a stampede at a music concert in Congo’s capital Saturday, authorities said.
The stampede occurred at the 80,000-capacity Stade des Martyrs stadium in the heart of Kinshasa where Mike Kalambayi, a popular Congolese gospel singer, was performing, Kinshasa Gov. Daniel Bumba said.
State television RTNC said seven people were killed in the chaos and some of those injured were admitted to intensive care.
Authorities did not comment on what caused the stampede, saying an investigation into the incident was underway. However, the local music management company that organized the event said the chaos erupted when “the security services tried to neutralize some troublemakers.”
An estimated 30,000 people attended the concert, which featured several other musicians and pastors, the management company Maajabu Gospel said in a statement.
Videos that appeared to be from the scene and broadcast of the event showed large crowds gathered outside the stadium in front of barricades as they waited to enter. Inside, people could be seen rushing to the center stage.
Congo has witnessed such stampedes in past years, often blamed on poor crowd control measures such as excessive use of force. Eleven people died in a similar crush at the same stadium last October during a music concert.
Seven people killed in stampede at a music concert in Congo’s capital, authorities report
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Seven people killed in stampede at a music concert in Congo’s capital, authorities report
- The stampede occurred at the Stade des Martyrs stadium where gospel singer Mike Kalambayi was performing, says governor
Nigeria police charge driver in fatal Joshua crash
- Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode charged with reckless and dangerous driving causing death
- British boxer's two friends Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami were killed in the crash
LAGOS: Nigerian police on Friday charged the driver of a car carrying British boxer Anthony Joshua that was involved in a fatal crash with “reckless” and “dangerous driving causing death.”
Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was also charged with driving without a valid “driver’s license” and “driving without due care and attention, causing bodily harm and damage to property,” Oluseyi Babaseyi, a spokesman for the police in Ogun state, told AFP.
He was granted a five million naira bail ($3,500) but will remain in detention until he meets bail conditions, Babaseyi said.
Kayode was driving the boxer and two of his friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, on a busy highway linking Lagos and Ibadan in southwest Nigeria when the Lexus SUV in which they were traveling rammed into a stationary truck on Monday.
Nigerian police and state officials said that Ayodele and Ghami died at the scene, while Joshua and the driver sustained minor injuries.
The Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) in Ogun state, where the accident occurred, told AFP earlier in the week that its preliminary investigations showed that the vehicle was moving at an excessive speed and had burst a tire before the crash.
Kayode is due to appear in court on January 20.
