Dozens Killed In Ivory Coast New Years Stampede

Disaster arrived with the New Year in the Ivory Coast, when a crowd of thousands stampeded after a fireworks show in the country’s commercial district. As the crowd forced its way out of the Felix Houphounet Boigny Stadium, 61 people were killed by the stampede, and dozens more were injured according to reports from the Associated Press.

Children made up a large portion of those killed, unable to keep up with the surging crowd. Minister of Youth Alain Lobognon posted the initial death toll on his Twitter account, confirming the deaths of 28 women, six men and 26 children. The death toll may rise as those injured undergo treatment. Early reports from the state media listed as many as 200 injured, but Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko later said that only 40 more were hurt, according to CNN.

“During the fireworks everything was proceeding normally,” Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko said. “At the end of it people wanted to go home, back to their home districts.

“Near the Hotel Tiama and the Houphouet-Boigny stadium there was a stampede. We were notified of injuries and deaths, and as regards casualties, we learnt that there was a heavy toll. The circumstances surrounding the incident will form the subject of an investigation,” he added.

Monday’s fireworks display was the second time the government organized a New York celebration in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast’s largest city. President Alassane Ouattara has already visited some of the injured, who are being treated in multiple area hospitals. Ouattara also pledged that the government would pay for the treatment of the wounded.

Many returned the scene in the morning, searching for missing loved ones, or information on those who were injured. Mamadu Sanogo was one of those, speaking to reports as she searched for his nine-year-old son.

“I have just seen all the bodies, but I cannot find my son,” the distraught mother told the Associated Press. “I don’t know what to do.”

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