Over 100 people die during football match in Guinea

Nothing less than 100 people have been confirmed dead during a football match in N’Zerekore, Guinea’s second-largest city.

People were killed after clashes between fans at a football match, hospital sources told AFP.

“There are bodies lined up as far as the eye can see in the hospital. Others are lying on the floor in the hallways. The morgue is full.

“There are around 100 dead”, with bodies filling the local hospital and morgue. Another doctor said there were “dozens of dead”.

Witnesses reported that angry demonstrators vandalised and set fire to the N’Zerekore police station.

“It all started with a contested decision by the referee. Then fans invaded the pitch,” a witness told AFP.

Videos on social media, which AFP could not immediately verify, depicted chaotic scenes outside the match with numerous bodies on the ground.

Meanwhile, Guinea's Prime Minister, Mamadou Oury Bah, expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy and confirmed that local authorities are working diligently to restore order and investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

This tragic event underscores the importance of ensuring adequate security measures at sporting events and managing crowd behaviour to prevent such devastating occurrences.

"The government deplores the incidents that marred the football match between the Labe and Nzerekore teams this afternoon in Nzerekore. During the stampede, victims were recorded," Bah said in a statement on Facebook via Reuters.