Eight people were killed during Senegal’s football league cup final in Dakar on Saturday in a stampede that broke out following clashes between supporters that were met by police firing tear gas.
At least 49 people were seriously injured in the confusion, the official APS news agency reported along with the death toll, requiring a mass deployment of firefighters and ambulances.
An AFP journalist at the match described a stadium full to bursting with people for the long-awaited clash between local teams US Ouakam and Stade de Mbour.
At 2-1 during extra time, US Ouakam supporters began throwing stones at Stade de Mbour fans, causing spectators to begin vacating their seats in a rush, the journalist said.
Part of a wall supporting bleachers where fans from both sides were sitting collapsed, while police had begun firing tear gas and panic spread in the stadium leading to a crush.
“All of a sudden when the wall fell ... we knew exactly that some of our own had lost their lives because the wall fell directly onto people,” said Cheikh Maba Diop, a witness who helped evacuate injured fans from the stadium and lost a friend in the tragedy.