[Archive 2009-03-29] Stadium disaster claims lives at football World Cup qualifier match in Ivory Coast

Historical archive — originally published 2009-03-29. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

A stadium disaster has claimed well over a dozen lives in the Ivory Coast. A crush, which may have occurred after a wall collapse, took place today at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan and according to interior minister Desire Tagro killed 22 people and wounded 132 others.

According to Sky Sports, a wall collapse caused the fatalities while the injured were hurt when pushing spectators caused a panic which became a stampede. 50,000 people had turned up to watch a qualifying match for the football 2010 World Cup between Ivory Coast and Malawi. The Associated Press also said that police used tear gas in an effort to control the crowd.

The match was sold out due to low-price tickets. The game went ahead despite the pre-match incident and the Ivory Coast side won 5-0.

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