Chaos at Angolan stadium leaves 17 dead.
Chaos ensued during a football match in Angola this Friday, the 10th, when hundreds of fans stormed the stadium gates in the city of Uige, in the north of the country; many fell and were trampled.
LUANDA (Reuters) At least 17 people died and dozens were injured in a stampede at a football match in Angola on Friday, when hundreds of fans stormed the stadium gates, a medical official said.
The crowd in the northern city of Uige pressed against a barrier after failing to get in before the start of the match, the state news agency Angop reported.
Many fell and were trampled.
Ernesto Luis, the general director of the local hospital, told Reuters that people suffocated in the crush.
"Some people had to walk over others; there were 76 victims, of whom 17 died," he said. Five of the injured were in serious condition.
Witnesses said the crowd trying to get in pushed the stadium beyond its 8.000-person capacity.
"When we tried to enter, we encountered a barrier. The first row of people fell... I was in the third row," declared João Silva, 37, who survived the crushing with a broken foot.
The match between Santa Rita de Cássia and Libolo was part of the first division of the Angolan championship.
Police and football officials were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Herculano Coroado)