30 March,2009 05:43 AM IST | | AP
Ivory Coast's Minister of the Interior has announced on state TV that at least 22 people were killed and 132 were wounded at a stampede before a World Cup qualifying match in the capital's main stadium.
Desire Tagro, the minister of the interior, said that the stadium was overrun with people who pushed against each other, setting off the panic that led to the stampede ahead of the Ivory Coast-Malawi game yesterday.
Stampedes are common at Africa's crowded stadiums, especially atevents that touch national pride, such as the World Cup qualifying matches.
Badly-equipped security forces are far outnumbered and are often unable to control the voluminous crowds.
