S. Africa mourns stadium victims

Watson Ncube is grief stricken at a Johannesburg morgue after identifying his wife Angeline as one killed in the stampede     ON THE NEWS Charlayne Hunter-Gault: South African stadium stampede

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Football matches across South Africa have been called off as the country mourns after 43 fans -- including two children -- were crushed to death in a stadium stampede.

Mourning relatives gathered at a Johannesburg mortuary on Thursday morning to search for their loved ones amid the bodies of those who died at the Ellis Park stadium during the game between the Kaizer Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates.

Soccer chiefs and government officials have announced a judicial inquiry into the disaster, which happened when fans broke through fences in the ground or climbed over gates to try to enter the stadium.

After a meeting on Thursday morning, it was also agreed to postpone all soccer matches scheduled for this weekend.

AUDIO Eyewitness Michael McMullan: The crowd just kept coming 624K/57 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Charlayne Hunter Gault: Tickets were oversold 545kb/49secs. AIFF or WAV sound S. African Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour: People were crushed 422K/39 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    IN-DEPTH Stadium deaths   •  Culture of neglect   •  Q&A on Ghana tragedy   •  Recent tragedies   •  Work to be done   •  World Cup chances   •  South Africa's bid   •  Ellis Park timeline   •  Fact file: Ellis Park   •  Ellis Park clubs   •  Ghana clubs   •  Audio/video archive   •  News search

The crush killed 29 people inside the stadium and 14 outside the ground, said police. More than 150 people were injured, with 89 of them admitted to hospital, said Molefi Oliphant, president of the South African Football Association.

The derby match between league-leaders Pirates and their rivals is a key fixture in South Africa's football calendar, with some fans travelling up to 400 miles to watch the game.

Officials are investigating why the stadium -- built to accommodate 60,000 spectators -- was so over-crowded and why security provisions had failed.

"If proper arrangements had (been) put in place, this never should have happened," Sports Minister Nconde Balfour told the South African Press Association.

One supporter said the game had not been abandoned until 10 minutes after the first body had been carried away.

"We thought someone had fainted," said Abdul Patel, who spent 20 minutes in the throng outside before he managed to get in. Later, he saw at least 10 bodies being carried onto the field.

Officials closed the stadium's gates after it had filled to capacity, said Robin Petersen, chief of the Premier Soccer League, which organised the match.

Guards were unable to stop the crowd from pouring into the already full stands, he said, and officials didn't initially realise the magnitude of the problem.

Flowers are laid Thursday at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg

Oliphant said at least 15,000 people were waiting outside the stadium, but he denied that officials had oversold tickets for the match. Some witnesses said there were many more thousands of people trying to enter the ground.

The stampede was not the first tragedy involving the two rival teams. In 1991, 42 people were killed and more than 50 injured when a fight sparked a stampede at a Chiefs-Pirates exhibition game.

Security guard Louis Shipalana said the problems were heightened when the Pirates scored a goal on Wednesday evening.

He said: "That's when everything happened. The stadium was full. There was no place to stand."

He said fans pushed down the fence at the front of the stands "and the people in the back stepped on those in front."

The match was tied 1-1 when it was abandoned after just over half-an-hour of play.

On Thursday morning, relatives gathered at the mortuary to continue searching for their loved ones. A crying man came out of the building and told reporters he had just identified his 11-year-old son's body.

Scenes from Ellis Park soccer tragedy

The football association and premier league have pledged 200,000 rands ($25,000) to a disaster relief fund for victims, and the teams pledged a further 200,000 rands ($25,000) each.

Former President Nelson Mandela said sport should continue its tradition of uniting South Africans.

"This incident should not divide us now but rather bring us even closer to ensure that this horror story does not repeat itself," he said in a statement.

South Africa is hoping to host soccer's 2010 World Cup, but FIFA, the sport's worldwide governing body, said it was far too early to say if the stampede would have any impact on any bid.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

Forty-three die in soccer stampede
April 11, 2001

South African Football Association
Premier Soccer League
South African Government
South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Football Association
Ellis Park stadium

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