Nine peopleincluding several children, died in a stampede who registered in a kampala Mall, the capital of Ugandaduring the celebration of New Yearas reported by the police this Sunday.
The stampede occurred after the Fireworks outside the square Freedom City, in the south of the African city. Five people died instantly and another four died on the way to hospital “largely from suffocation,” police spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire said in a statement.
“The rescuers arrived at the scene and transferred the injured to the hospital, where the death of nine people in total was confirmed,” he explained.
Police spokesman for Kampala He specified that most of the victims were young people between the ages of 10 and 20. and referred to acts of “recklessness and negligence.”
“There are several injuries and our investigation team is following up to get the exact number and full details of the injuries. deceased. We are also contacting your relativesOnyango declared from Uganda.
The chaos began with the fireworks in Uganda
Sylvia Nakalema, a 27-year-old businesswoman who was present, said that the event at the mall Freedom City to receive the New Year It was going well until it was time for the fireworks show.
“There was a huge crowd. People began to push each other (…), which caused some to fall to the ground and then the stampede. There were children crying and it was chaos,” Nakalema told the AFP.
The woman claims that she survived the stampede in Uganda because the crowd ended up pushing her into a corner. “At one point I felt I was losing my breath, but I stayed still because I had no escape until the situation calmed down, but some people were already on the ground gasping,” she described.
The NTV television channel broadcast images showing several families gathered in a morgue in the city of Kampala.
