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| Ivory Coast fireworks crush kills at least 60 | Ivory Coast fireworks crush kills at least 60 |
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| About 60 people have been crushed to death in a stampede outside a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan after a New Year's Eve fireworks display. | About 60 people have been crushed to death in a stampede outside a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan after a New Year's Eve fireworks display. |
| The incident took place near Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium where a crowd had gathered to watch fireworks, emergency officials said. One of the injured at a hospital said security forces had arrived to break up the crowd, triggering a panic in which many people fell over and were trampled. | The incident took place near Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium where a crowd had gathered to watch fireworks, emergency officials said. One of the injured at a hospital said security forces had arrived to break up the crowd, triggering a panic in which many people fell over and were trampled. |
| Other reports said the crush happened when thousands of people who were trying to leave the festivities met another large crowd arriving at the same time. | Other reports said the crush happened when thousands of people who were trying to leave the festivities met another large crowd arriving at the same time. |
| "The provisional death toll is 60 and there are 49 injured," the interior minister, Hamed Bakayoko, said in a statement on national television. "During the fireworks everything was proceeding normally," Bakayoko said. "At the end of it people wanted to go home, back to their home districts. | "The provisional death toll is 60 and there are 49 injured," the interior minister, Hamed Bakayoko, said in a statement on national television. "During the fireworks everything was proceeding normally," Bakayoko said. "At the end of it people wanted to go home, back to their home districts. |
| "Near the Hotel Tiama and the Houphouët-Boigny stadium there was a stampede. We were notified of injuries and deaths, and as regards casualties, we learnt that there was a heavy toll. The circumstances surrounding the incident will form the subject of an investigation." | "Near the Hotel Tiama and the Houphouët-Boigny stadium there was a stampede. We were notified of injuries and deaths, and as regards casualties, we learnt that there was a heavy toll. The circumstances surrounding the incident will form the subject of an investigation." |
| President Alassane Ouattara, visiting injured people at the hospital, called the incident a national tragedy and said an investigation was under way to determine what had happened. | President Alassane Ouattara, visiting injured people at the hospital, called the incident a national tragedy and said an investigation was under way to determine what had happened. |
| A Reuters correspondent said bloodstains and abandoned shoes littered the scene outside the stadium on Tuesday morning. | A Reuters correspondent said bloodstains and abandoned shoes littered the scene outside the stadium on Tuesday morning. |
| Assetou Toure, a cleaner, said: "My two children came here yesterday. I told them not to come but they didn't listen. They came when I was sleeping. What will I do?" She did not know if her children had escaped unhurt. | Assetou Toure, a cleaner, said: "My two children came here yesterday. I told them not to come but they didn't listen. They came when I was sleeping. What will I do?" She did not know if her children had escaped unhurt. |
| According to the Associated Press a state radio and a fire department rescue worker, estimated that an additional 200 people were injured. The emergency worker said a crowd of thousands gathered at the Houphouët-Boigny Stadium to see the fireworks and after the display the crowds in the street became a crush in which people were trampled. | According to the Associated Press a state radio and a fire department rescue worker, estimated that an additional 200 people were injured. The emergency worker said a crowd of thousands gathered at the Houphouët-Boigny Stadium to see the fireworks and after the display the crowds in the street became a crush in which people were trampled. |
| The incident was the worst of its kind in Abidjan since 2010, when a stampede at a stadium during a football match killed 18 people. | The incident was the worst of its kind in Abidjan since 2010, when a stampede at a stadium during a football match killed 18 people. |
| Ivory Coast, once a stable economic hub for west Africa, is struggling to recover from the 2011 civil war in which more than 3,000 people were killed. | Ivory Coast, once a stable economic hub for west Africa, is struggling to recover from the 2011 civil war in which more than 3,000 people were killed. |
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