Two killed in South Africa football stadium crush
No fewer
than two people have been killed and 17 injured in a crush at South Africa's
biggest stadium, football officials say.
It took
place during the Soweto derby between football clubs Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando
Pirates in Johannesburg.
Orlando Pirates said the crush happened when
people attempted to push their way through the gates into the 87,000-capacity
FNB stadium.
Authorities allowed the pre-season cup game to
continue.
Public safety official Michael Sun said on
Twitter that all gates at the stadium had been opened to ensure crowd control
and that the situation was later brought under control.
Of the 17 injured, one is in a critical
condition, the stadium managers said.
Reuters said live television coverage of the
match, which Kaizer Chiefs won 1-0, showed no obvious disturbance.
The stadium served as the venue for Nelson
Mandela's first speech after his release from prison in 1990, and is where the
memorial for Mr Mandela was held in 2013.
It was rebuilt for the 2010 football World
Cup, where it was known as Soccer City and hosted the final between Spain and
the Netherlands.
In April 2001, 43 supporters died in a crush
during another match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at the Ellis
Park stadium in Johannesburg.
And 10 years before that, 42 people died in a
crush between the same two teams at the Oppenheimer Stadium in the city of
Orkney.
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