Sport

120 dead in Ghana match riot

At least 120 people were killed and more than 150 others injured in crowd violence which followed a football match in a stadium…

Thu May 10 2001 - 01:00

At least 120 people were killed and more than 150 others injured in crowd violence which followed a football match in a stadium in the Ghanaian capital Accra last night.

Supporters of one of the clubs involved, Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko, rioted when their team lost to local rivals and reigning African Champions League winners Hearts of Oak, and began ripping up the stadium seats.

But the crowd panicked when police began firing tear gas to control the crowd. Many were crushed underfoot in the ensuing panic with nobody able to escape the scene as police had locked the stadium doors, according to early reports.

Ghanaian journalists at the scene said bodies were laid out at one of the adjacent rooms in the stadium and the injured were being taken by ambulance to hospital at the Ghanaian capital.

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The director of Accra's military hospital said that 102 bodies had been moved there along with 53 injured people.

Private radio Joy FM put the total death toll at 120, saying that a further five bodies had been taken to a police hospital and 13 to another local hospital.

This is the fourth incident of its kind in Africa in less than a month. In the Ivory Coast last weekend, incidents between supporters and police led to one death and 39 injuries in Abidjan.

At least 10 people were killed and 51 injured on April 29th during a match at Lubumbashi, in the south east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. At Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, a stampede caused 43 deaths and 160 injuries on April 11th when a mass of ticketless supporters pushed their way into the stadium already packed full with more than 60,000 spectators for the derby match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

Harry Redknapp is confident his departure from West Ham will be resolved amicably between himself and the club.

The former West Ham manager, who left Upton Park yesterday by mutual agreement after nearly seven years in charge, has insisted there is no ill-feeling between himself and chairman Terence Brown. Redknapp has asked the Professional Footballers' Association to handle his settlement, as he had two years left to run on his contract.