A stampede of sports fans trying to enter Madagascar’s national stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games has killed 12 and injured around 80, the prime minister said on Friday.
It was not immediately apparent what prompted the rush, but a similar event at the Mahamasina stadium in 2019 killed at least 15 people.
Prime Minister Christian Ntsay said 11 of the injured were in critical condition.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) established the Indian Ocean Island Games in 1977, and athletes from Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion, and the Maldives compete.
