Cameroon’s ex-international Patrick Mboma and coaching legend Claude Leroy spoke from the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé as if nothing had happened. The two experts from the French TV station Canal+who were covering the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match between Cameroon and Comoros apparently were unaware of the tragedy that happened at one of the arena’s entrances before the match.
When trying to get into the stadium via a southern entrance, panic broke out in a jostling crowd. With terrible consequences: according to the current status, eight people died and up to 50 were taken to nearby hospitals, some seriously injured.
Austrian journalist – escaped thanks to courageous help
Kurt Wachter, an Austrian journalist, was on site and narrowly escaped the disaster. “I was at this very entrance a good hour before kick-off and just barely escaped the panic thanks to the brave help of a stadium volunteer. It was a terrible situation.”said Wachter.
The Danish journalist Buster Kirchner was also an eyewitness. “There was chaos in front of the stadium due to a huge crowd”he reports “The situation was absolutely confusing. Luckily I wasn’t close enough to the entrance in question to hear more about the deaths.”
Chaos during the removal of the corpses and wounded
While the local organizing committee confirmed the deaths but spoke of themselves “First get an overview in a confusing situation” to want, the first reports of what was happening on the streets and from the surrounding hospitals became known.
The removal of the corpses and injured people was apparently severely delayed due to a chaotic traffic situation, and there was despair in the clinics. “Many of the injured were in a very threatening condition when they arrived”reported nurse Olinge Prudence from the Messassi Clinic of the AFP news agency. “We have to somehow see that we can transfer them to special clinics”said the nurse.
A tragedy broke out last week in Yaoundé, which is currently crowded with football tourists, when an explosion in a nightclub killed 14 people.
Stadium entrances insufficiently constructed?
Only 48,000 spectators were admitted to the 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium on Monday due to the corona pandemic. And even for this crowd, the stadium entrances are not designed large enough, reported according to the British “Guardians” an insider who did not want to be named.
A lack of safety standards is not uncommon in African stadiums, and mass panics with fatalities have already occurred more frequently in front of arenas. Two quarter-final games are to be played next Sunday at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, which was specially built for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations. The organizing committee wants to meet with representatives of the African Football Association CAF for a crisis meeting on Tuesday to discuss how to proceed.
Players were unaware of the tragedy
Despite the deaths, the game was played between hosts Cameroon and great outsiders Comoros. Both reporters and players had apparently not noticed anything about the previous catastrophe.
Cameroon had struggled for a long time against the underdog team, which was badly decimated in terms of personnel and even had to play with a field player in goal, before finally achieving a difficult 2-1 victory and advancing to the next round. Of course, given the news that quickly spread after the game, there was no real joy about the victory.
As of: 01/25/2022, 12:32 p.m