Dozens of people, including children, were killed when chaos broke out at a soccer game in the Guinean city of Nzerekore, officials reported late on Sunday.
“The government deplores the incidents that marred the football match between the Labe and Nzerekore teams this afternoon in Nzerekore,” Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah wrote on social media.
“During the stampede, victims were recorded.”
Match attendees said that a dispute broke out between fans of the local Nzerekore squad and supporters of the team from the city of Labe following a controversial decision by the referee.
“This [the disputed penalty] angered supporters who threw stones. This is how the security services used tear gas,” local outlet Media Guinea reported.
Hospitals overwhelmed
Unverified footage showed bodies in the street outside the stadium.
A local doctor told French news agency AFP that there were “around 100 dead.”
“There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital. Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The morgue is full,” he said.
According to local media, the match was part of a tournament being held in honor of Guinea’s military dictator Mamadi Doumbouya, who has been in power since a September 2021 coup.
es/zc (AP, AFP)
