Angola's deadly stadium stampede caused by 'flaws in security plan'

The stadium stampede that killed 17 people and injured some 58 others in Angola was as a result of inadequate security and crowd control measures at the game.

The AFP news agency quotes an official of the Angolan Football Federation saying, ‘‘The FFA concludes that flaws in the security plan outside the stadium of Uige caused the incident.’‘

The State news agency, Angop, reported that Ministry of Sports had also asked the local football association and provincial authorities to investigate the cause of the incident. The match between Santa Rita de Cássia and Libolo was part of Angola’s first division championship.

Medical sources stated that supporters on the evening of Friday, February 10, stormed the gates of the stadium to watch a game between local teams resulting in the accident. The incident occured at the January 4th stadium in the northern city of Uige.

President Eduardo dos Santos ordered a probe into the incident whiles expressing solidarity with the injured and families of the dead.

“I express my solidarity with the families of the deceased and have instructed the Provincial Government of Uige to provide all necessary assistance to the injured and have given guidance to the competent authorities to open an inquiry that will establish the cause of this serious incident,” dos Santos said in a statement hours after the incident.

Africa has had its fair share of soccer disasters, one of the most notable ones being in Ghana, 16 years ago when 129 football fans died in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster.

The deaths were caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of teargas by police personnel at the stadium), it followed a controversial decision by the referee in a game between the top local sides, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.