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In a tragic turn of events, 12 people were killed in a stampede at a stadium in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo as per Prime Minister Christian Ntsay. Another 80 people were further injured during the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games at the Mahamasina stadium.
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The stampede occurred at the entrance to the stadium on Friday where a crowd of about 50,000 spectators had arrived to attend the event. Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina, who was present at the opening ceremony, called for a minute of silence and later the ceremony continued with a laser show and fireworks.
While addressing the crowd after the incident, President Rajoelina said, "An unfortunate event happened. There was a stampede at the entrance. There were a lot of injuries. We will observe a few seconds of silence because compatriots have died when they wanted to enter.”
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Talking about the Indian Ocean Island Games, the multi-sport competition is scheduled to take place in Madagascar through September 3. The Indian Ocean Island Games were created by the International Olympic Committee in 1977 and include participants from Comoros, Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion and the Seychelles.
