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
Built on ancient design, Indian Navy’s first stitched ship sails to Oman
- INSV Kaundinya is a 21-meter wooden ship modeled on painting from Ajanta Caves
- It was constructed by artisans from Kerala and inducted into Indian Navy last year
NEW DELHI: Built using a fifth-century stitched-ship technique, the Indian Navy’s Kaundinya vessel is approaching Oman, navigating the historic Arabian Sea route once traveled by ancient seafarers.
The 21-meter ship is a type of wooden boat, in which planks are stitched together using cords or ropes, a technique popular in ancient India for constructing ocean-going vessels.
The vessel set sail on its first transoceanic voyage from Porbandar in Gujarat on Dec. 29 and is expected to reach Muscat in mid-January.
“The exact date obviously depends on how weather conditions pan out. It has been a great experience thus far and the crew remains in high spirits,” Sanjeev Sanyal, an Indian economist who initiated the Kaundinya project and is part of the expedition, told Arab News.
“This is a very ancient route going back to the Bronze Age, and very active from ancient to modern times. We are trying to re-create the voyage on INSV Kaundinya, a ‘stitched’ ship using designs as they would have existed in the fifth century A.D. — a hull from stitched planks, steering oars, square sails, and so on.”
The ship was built by artisans from Kerala based on a painting found in the Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra state, where rock-cut monuments feature exquisite murals dating from the second century B.C. to the fifth century.
Funded by the Indian Ministry of Culture in 2023, the vessel was completed in February last year and inducted into the Indian Navy in May.
The Indian Navy collaborated with the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras to conduct model testing of the vessel’s hydrodynamic performance. The navy also tested the wooden mast system, which was built entirely without modern materials.
On its journey to Muscat, the ship is manned by an 18-member crew, which, besides Sanyal, consists of four officers, 12 sailors, and a medic.
“The voyage gives a good glimpse of how ancient mariners crossed the Indian Ocean — the changing winds and currents, the limitations of ancient technology,” Sanyal said.
“The square sail, for example, allows the ship to sail only up to a limited angle to the wind compared to a modern sailing boat. It also does not have a deep keel, so it rolls a lot. “Nonetheless, in good winds, it can do up to five knots — a very respectable speed. One reads about these voyages in ancient texts and (they are also) depicted in paintings and sculpture, but this provides a real experience.”
