[ 2016-07-07 ]

Stampede at Salah jams, 9 dead in Kumasi
A stampede during a celebration of a Muslim
holiday at the Asawase Community Center in Kumasi
in the Ashanti Region, Thursday has claimed 9
lives so far.
Six of the dead are females and three males while
those injured are receiving treatment at the
Manhyia hospital with one person in a critical
condition.

It is not clear what caused the stampede but some
survivor say, a fight broke out and those inside
the Center were in a hurry to get out.

Muslims the world over celebrated Eid-Ul-Fitr on
Wednesday to mark the end of the month of Ramadan
in which Muslims fast for 29/30 days.

All forms of celebrations are used to mark the
occasion.

The event at the community center began at 8 p.m.
was to end at 2 a.m Thursday. The center was
overcrowded with a reported 200 to 300 people in
attendance.

There are conflicting reports as to what happened
prior to the stampede.

According to one survivor, Charles Amoa-Boateng
who spoke to Joy News' Erastus Asare Donkor ,
there was a sudden power cut inside the club which
caused panic and a madrush for the exit. Another
report said 'a noise like a gunshot' was heard
from the meter right before the power cut.

He said, there was a lot of people wailing and
crying in the fight to get out.

"I was bitten by several people in my fight to get
out. Some people were stepping on me while others
were throwing their hands for help to get out," he
said.

Mr Amoa-Boateng said he was lucky someone heard
his cries and pulled him out of the many people
struggling to exit, adding, "there was no movement
as most of us were suffocating in the heat"
Another survivor said there was an announcement
that a fight had broken out inside the Center
which caused people to panic thus headed for the
exit.

Source - Myjoyonline

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