At Least 7 Killed, 51 Injured in Riot at Congo Soccer Match
Panicked crowds crushed at least seven people to death Sunday in a riot at a match between two of Congo’s top soccer teams.
Congo Information Minister Kikaya Bin Karubi said 51 other people were injured.
“This is the worst football disaster in memory” in Congo, he said.
The riot broke out at a match between Lupopo and Mazembe, the top two teams in southern Congo, in the southern city of Lubumbashi.
When Mazembe players tied the game at 1-1 just 10 minutes before the end of the match, supporters of the opposing team started throwing bottles.
Police fired tear gas to try to quell the crowd but instead triggered the stampede. Crowds knocked over barriers in the stands in their rush to escape the tear gas and each other.
Karubi said seven people died. A doctor at Lubumbashi’s morgue put the death toll at 10. The doctor refused to give his name.
The stadium was designed to hold 40,000 fans. The exact crowd count was not known Sunday, but witnesses said the stadium was packed.
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