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11 die in stampede at Fally Ipupa concert in DR Congo

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Agence France-Presse

<p>KINSHASA, DR Congo - A stampede left nine spectators and two police officers dead during a packed concert by African music star Fally Ipupa at the biggest stadium in DR Congo&#x27;s capital, the interior minister said Sunday, blaming the organizers.</p><p>Too many people had been allowed into Kinshasa&#x27;s 80,000 capacity Martyrs&#x27; stadium on Saturday night, Interior Minister Daniel Aselo Okito told the Actualite.cd news website.</p><p>&quot;Eleven people dead... including two police,&quot; the minister told reporters at the stadium, sending condolences to relatives of the casualties. </p><p>He deplored the frequent &quot;loss of human life and damage to equipment&quot; during events held at the stadium.</p><p>The organisers &quot;went beyond 100 percent capacity... they must be punished&quot;, the minister said.</p><p>&quot;It was a stampede,&quot; that caused the deaths, a policeman on the scene told the official Congolese Press Agency ACP.</p><p>&quot;The music-lovers suffocated.&quot;</p><p>Kinshasa police chief General Sylvain Sasongo had earlier told ACP nine people had died, amid reports the venue had been absolutely jammed with people for the local favourite&#x27;s performance, with one witness saying &quot;even the corridors&quot; of the stadium were overflowing.</p><p>ACP, which had reporters in the stadium covering the concert, said police had cordoned off three areas to secure the pitch, the VIP stand and the stage.</p><p>&quot;Under the pressure of the crowd, the police could not hold out long,&quot; ACP said.</p><p>On his Facebook page, Fally Ipupa said he was horrified to learn what had happened.</p><p>&quot;Despite all the measures taken for the strict respect of security requirements, unfortunate and dramatic events marred the end of the concert. </p><p>&quot;It appears from elements at our disposal that after jostling at the exit and around the stadium compatriots were dragged to their deaths.</p><p>&quot;I am deeply shocked and offer my most heartfelt condolences to all the families concerned.</p><p>&quot;May God in his deep mercy comfort their broken hearts.&quot;</p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/FallyIpupaOfficial/posts/681985476623085" data-width="auto"> </div><p>The singer-songwriter, &quot;like all Congolese singers&quot;, had arrived several hours after the show had been scheduled to start, ACP reported.</p><p>The Kinshasa-born 44-year-old, who blends traditional African harmonies with urban musical genres, is one of Africa&#x27;s leading musicians whose albums sell world-wide.</p><p>The disaster comes hours after the more than 150 people were killed in a stamped at a Halloween event in Seoul, South Korea.</p><div><strong>at/cdw/jj</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2316822" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

A stampede left 11 people dead during a packed concert by African music star Fally Ipupa at the biggest stadium in DR Congo's capital.